Lost Consistency
by VixonVulpe
Summary: Something about this place has the ability to take all you thought you knew and morph it. The mother hen becomes the mocking cheerleader, the shy girl becomes the class president, the best friends stop all communication. High school has no consistency. AU [Canceled indefinitely]
1. This Year's Going To Be Great

A/N: So, I was hoping that playing Kingdom Hearts songs while I worked on this would help me write. I'm getting the feeling that perhaps they're giving my the urge to draw rather than work on this, but none the less, I've devoted myself to this already, and so it must be done.

I think this story should be referred to as the Nobody of my stories because it never should have existed. I'm neglecting my other stories because of this, but I can't help it. If I don't write it now, when I know I have a snow day following me, then I'll only write it later, and what with my unrelenting urge to cosplay as Riku, it's probably best to do this now.

I'm stalling…

_Warnings for this story include but are not limited to:__ homosexuality, profanity, violence, sexual jokes, extreme embarrassment for hilarity's sake, and more untold glory._

This is an AU. 

I am trying to enhance my writing, so please, _please, _give me constructive feedback. Flames are welcome, too, of course, because they actually brighten my day with a laugh.

**PS: My tab key isn't working, so if the indents are mismatched, I'm sorry. **

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_A laugh danced through the comfortable air as the pair watched the man's figure disappear beyond the view of the glass window set in the cool metal frame of the back door. The man was blissfully unaware that his own child was laughing at him. Another laugh danced with the first, this one being much more childish. Where the first had been a breathy, mirth filled, adolescent laugh dripping with boyish charm and handsome features, the second was sharper in the sense that it wasn't so softly rounded by breath. It was filled with innocence and amusement and bordered between childhood and adolescence. Joy fell from it and formed a puddle at their feet, mixing with the adorable quality that leaked through the cracks of the young laugh. The two laughs, intertwining and swirling together, were the only clear thing left as the scene slowly began to fade away into darkness._

Slowly the darkness brightened to a deep gray as consciousness crept into a certain sleeping teen. A faint groan bounced off of the cool wall in front of his face even though it never left his throat. Heavy eyelids ever so slowly lifted themselves to a half mast position, turning the gray to a dark green. Everything appeared to be so _hazy. _As though the world was being view through a poor quality camera lens.

He noticed a weight in the hand hidden beneath his pillow and slowly shifted his weight to move the object into his line of sight. The haziness had gone down a bit as the sleep slowly faded from his dim sea-foam green eyes, revealing the identity of the object in question; his cell phone. Opening it with a flick of his wrist, he found the time to be six thirty in the morning. An hour and a half before the first day of school officially commenced. This year he would be entering his second year of Destiny High. Sometimes he questioned the creativity of the old islanders who founded the school.

Groggily, the sophomore pushed his thin blanket off of his body and rolled over onto his chest to lift himself up. Yawning, the teen pushed himself off of the bed and walked over to his closet, finding a few school uniforms hanging there. Taking the first one he saw, he left for the bathroom to quickly shower. Once he had dressed himself, his shirt left untucked and his tie left untied, he braced himself against the sink and looked at his reflection, hovering above the faucet. Damp silver bangs hung in front of his now bright eyes as he regarded himself. Deeming what he saw 'acceptable,' the teen left the small room, stopping in the kitchen to grab a granola bar, and heading out the back door.

A warm wind from the ocean ruffled the heavy palm leaves above the teen's head and played gently with his silver locks as he made his way to the docks, his steps even and slow. He passed several shops along the boardwalk before reaching the first of two meeting places. Leaning against a lamppost, he opened his breakfast and took a small bite, waiting for two people.

"Riku!" a female voice called from the direction he had come from. He'd half finished his breakfast by now. A teenage girl with dark red hair approached him, her skirt quivering in the slight wind.

"Late, as always," Riku greeted her, not moving from his position against the post.

"At least I'm not as bad as Sora," the girl laughed, setting down her bag and coming to stand beside him. They both faced the road directly in front of their lamp.

"Don't tell me that's all you're going to eat," the girl said incredulously as Riku took another bite of the bar in his hand.

"Most people actually skip breakfast, believe it or not, Kairi, and they get through the day just fine."

"And most people aren't silver haired. That doesn't mean they're smarter than you."

"That made enough sense that I think you heard Sora say it," Riku responded, and eyebrow raised at the girl beside him. She rolled her eyes.

"Of course he said it. I just thought it was cute," she explained as she leaned over to fix his tie for him.

"I'm capable of doing that on my own, you know."

"Then why don't you do it yourself?" the girl taunted. Riku rolled his eyes, a smirk gracing his lips.

"Riku! Kairi!" a tiny figure ahead of them called as it bobbed towards them. Riku crumpled the wrapper of his breakfast with a series of crinkling sounds and tossed it, without looking, into the trash bin behind the pair. The silvery plastic reached its goal flawlessly thanks to much practice.

"Sora!" Kairi called, waving to the third member of the trio. Riku pushed away from the lamppost, standing upright to meet his best friend. Quickly, a brunet came into clear view as he and his spiky hair dashed towards the meeting place. A hyperactive boy soon stood in front of them, panting a little, but otherwise showing no sign that he had just dashed out of his home and ran all the way there.

"Honestly, Sora," Kairi sighed, taking hold of his tie, "you should get Riku to teach you how to tie this thing right! This is just sad."

"Riku knows how to tie a tie?" Sora asked in a mock incredulous voice, grinning at the tallest of the three over the motherly girl's head.

"Or so he tells me," the red-head laughed, standing up straight and marveling at her work, as though tying ties was a delicate and artistic practice. It probably was, in her eyes.

"Ok, happy Tease-Riku-Day, can we go now?" Riku hinted, nodding his head ever so slightly to the clock in front of the bank that informed them the had fifteen minutes to get to school.

"Oh yeah, we can all walk together for once," Sora realized. He and Kairi were starting high school. The trio used to meet at the docks in the mornings before school to get a chance to see each other, but the middle school was in the opposite direction of the high school, so Sora and Kairi had walked together while Riku went to school on his own.

"Yeah," Kairi said in an airy voice as she picked up her school bag and slung it over her shoulder. "This year's going to be great. Right, Riku?" the girl asked, taking her two best friends' hands as they began walking.

"Yeah," Riku nodded, flashing a rare smile at the two to his left.

"Absolutely!" Sora declared as they crossed the beach. The school building was on a hill over looking the ocean.

"Alright, enough sappy shit, Kairi," Riku teased, taking his hand back.

"Aw, Riku, you're so rude," the red-head faked a pout.

"No, he's just an ass," Sora laughed.

"Sora! Don't-say-those-words-you-have-innocence-and-manners-you're-not-like-Riku!" Kairi scolded, hitting Sora on the arm with each word. Riku laughed at them and raised his arms, letting his fingers lock behind his head. The ocean water ran to the shore just a jumping distance away from them.

"Hey guys," Sora said after swatting away Kairi's abusive hands.

"Hm?" Riku responded intelligently, glancing sideways at his friend.

"Let's go to the play island after school today, ok?"

"Does a day go by when we don't?" Riku smirked.

"Well, no, but, I don't know, things could change. I mean, we're all in high school now, and-"

"Silly Sora, Riku was already at Destiny High last year," Kairi responded as the pair climbed the rocky path to the school campus, "and he still came with us everyday."

"Well, he could have just been doing it because we were younger than him and we still went."

"You say 'we _were _younger' as if you're suddenly the same age as me, shorty," Riku teased.

"Oh shut up, di-" a sharp glace from Kairi broke Sora's insulting words.

"What was that Sora? I don't think I heard you," Riku smirked.

"…dummy," Sora saved. Kairi, satisfied, faced forward again. Sora flipped Riku off behind her back.

"You would," Riku mouthed, grinning at the disgusted face that crossed Sora's face.

"Oh look, it's Selphie!" Kairi unknowingly interrupted any more taunts before dragging the two boys away with her.


	2. Good Evening

Editing Note: I apologize for the previously inadequate quality this chapter possessed. It has been review and mended. Thank you for your patience.

A/N: So this is the first story I've ever written that actually has an outline to it. I've never done this for anything outside of school, so I'm kind of testing it out. It should probably eliminate plot holes. I'm also trying to keep up with the style used in the prologue. It feels like I always write this as a result of insomnia and urge to cosplay XD

Some of the characters may seem OOC at first. Don't worry, anytime this is done it's done so they will develop as the story goes on. They'll change from this weird personality to the one you're used to. I don't like writing OOC things. It makes it less realistic, I think. So just bear with me, ok? Thanks. Oh, and I don't have anything against emos, I just don't think Zexion is quite there yet.

Disclaimer: Do not, did not, will not own Kingdom Hearts. Ever. Same as for Final Fantasy. All belongs to Squeenix. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. Minor reference, but still there.

This border of mine was supposed to look like Roxas's checker board sleeves. I know it doesn't. Don't rub it in.

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Selphie and Kairi babbled away about their summer vacation as their fellow students mingled in the front courtyard of the public high school. Riku and Sora stood beside the chattering girls, half listening to the tales as they looked for their own companions. The sea of blue plaid uniforms did little to aide them. Something about consistent conformity made it a bit difficult to pinpoint the location of specific people, after all. This was one of the multitude of reasons that the adolescent residents of Destiny Islands strived to maintain unique hair styles, some taking this theme farther than others. The two friends didn't notice the seconds slipping by as they dutifully searched for their companions.

Riku sighed when the first bell of the school year pulled him away from his search, as well as his two best friends, and launched him head first instead into the brand new school year, as though his education was a far more pressing matter. After conferring with his schedule, who proclaimed that he did indeed have science first and he should stop checking if he wanted to make it to class before the lunch bell, he carried himself to his first classroom.

Riku entered this new science class nonchalantly and glanced lazily at the whiteboard to his left for a seating chart of some kind. His sea-green eyes were met with simplistic instructions instead, posted in the form of a numerical list, as though this experiment was intended for sixth graders.

"This is Advanced Chemistry, not Potions," Riku muttered in a tone that suggested his cold character was directed at the end of vacation rather than the assignment. Nonetheless a handsome glare rested on his face as he read through the procedure. He was ahead of himself in most classes, and as such was far more accustomed to receiving vague, self interpretation formatted handouts designed to develop his so-called problem solving skills or some other educational term used to sugar coat teachers' laziness. A straight forward assignment was virtually unheard of at this point. Riku sighed for the umpteenth time, sincerely hoping the school year would hold some for of entertainment, and looked around the room. Every three person lab table held within the dull white room was completely occupied, accepting one.

"It seems you will be working at station eleven, sir," the teacher informed him unhelpfully from where he stood at his desk, organizing papers. His blonde hair was held back in a ponytail for the most part, however his bangs slid across the desk before he straitened up, fixing his green eyes on the silver haired teen. Riku, detecting a hint of insanity glinting in those eyes, nodded at the obvious statement and slowly walked over to the pair of odd looking boys at the remaining station. One was much taller than Riku, while the other was a few inches shorter. The taller boy had pink hair while the shorter male's hair was a blue-ish slate color.

"It would seem we've created the most colorful station here," the shorter boy said, glancing at Riku's silver hair. As Riku pondered the possibly sarcastic tone he may or may not have picked up in the boy's sentence, the late bell saved him from thinking up a response.

Sora hurried to his class, not wanting to be late on the first day. He managed to trip only twice and take a wrong turn four times, a personal best for a new school, before scampering in just as the bell rang. The elegant brunette took a few seconds to handsomely pant in the doorway before bouncing over to the only open seat in a dignified manner, ignoring his third trip of the day as the class snickered. The teacher at the front of the room yawned in a bored manner as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

"Good evening class. My name is-yes?"

"It's morning, sir," a girl seated near the windows corrected gently.

"Ah yes, so it is. Very well," the teacher waved her off. "Good evening class. My name is of no importance. If you need it, it's on your schedule. Probably. Today-"

"What if we have a question in class?" the same girl blurted out in confusion. Sora head some upperclassmen snicker and whisper to one another "_Freshy!_"

"Then you will raise your hand, miss, or I'll ignore you," the teacher said simply, acting as though the laughing students' loud whispers didn't exist.

"But you didn't ignore her just then," a boy from across the room countered.

"Everyone gets one. You've just used yours. Anyone else?" the teacher demanded dully. No one said anything. Several students whispered, having caught on to the poor hearing of the lazy educator.

"Very well. Who can tell me the name of this class? You sir?" the teacher continued, his lecture gaining ludicrousness with every passing second.

"Guidance study," a boy somewhere to Sora's left read off of the schedule in an uncertain tone.

"Correct. What does that mean?" The teacher drawled. He pointed at a girl directly behind Sora.

"Study Hall?"

"No. An easy A. Sit there and try not to be too rowdy. I'm going to sleep over here," the ridiculous man concluded bluntly, walking to his desk.

"You're not going to do your job?" the girl asked incredulously.

"I have tenure," the teacher answered with a shrug, thoroughly motivating the class to dedicate themselves to the road of hard work and perseverance.

"Not even role call?" another student asked, almost begging the man to do something responsible. The teacher just tossed a clipboard to the floor, not even bothering to look at his students.

"Knock yourself out."

The class erupted in chatter of the teacher's behavior. Sora took this sudden free time as a chance to get a look at who he'd been seated with. To his right was a tall boy with a friendly face and bright green eyes, though they weren't quite the same as Riku's, Sora noted. This boy also had blonde hair cut in a mullet style, and then pulled up into a mini Mohawk of some kind. After regarding the boy curiously, Sora turned to see who was on his left.

"Hayner!" Sora greeted his friend.

"I was wondering when you'd notice me," Hayner said in mock hurt. Sora laughed out an apology, innocently rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Speaking of noticing, who are you?" Hayner asked the blonde student. "I've never seen you on the island before."

"Oh, I'm Demyx!" the mulleted boy responded loudly, holding out his hands for each friend to shake and grinning cheerfully. Sora returned the grin almost identically and shook the hand offered to him enthusiastically, while Hayner did so much more calmly.

"Where are you from?" Hayner asked in a half interested manner.

"Oh, there was this big exchange program between your school and Hallow Bastion High. People signed up for it last year, so I guess you wouldn't know about it, huh? Anyway, we're going to be here all school year. I know like everyone who came over. We all had this huge camping trip thing over summer break so we'd like know each other and stuff. You know, incase you guys were really weird and we needed to talk to people who were used to the stuff we were used to. Can you imagine if poor Zexion was weirded out? Who could he turn to? Oh, you don't know him, so I guess you can't imagine," Demyx laughed, finally slowing down his conversational speed.

"You and Sora are going to get along great," Hayner laughed. "You both talk a mile a minute." Sora and Demyx grinned again in acknowledgement.

"So anyway, there are one, four, six, seven of us here," Demyx continued, counting on his fingers. "There's Larxene, Marluxia, and Zexion in eleventh grade, me and Axel in tenth, and then Namine and Roxas are ninth graders, but they got in because they have older siblings in high school who could get them the registration forms."

"And you all became friends in just one camp out?" Hayner asked skeptically.

"Well it was like two weeks long," Demyx defended with a shrug. "Plus, I already knew Axel, Roxas already knew Namine, who already knew Larxene since they're sisters. Larxene knew Marluxia already, too. So pretty much only Zexion was alone." Sora's head was spinning as he tried to keep track of all of the names, but he was enjoying the conversation nonetheless.

"Kid needs to get out more," Hayner put in as he recognized Zexion's name from Demyx's rushed paragraph a few seconds prior. Demyx simply laughed musically before grinning mischievously.

"Don't say that to his face or you'll be pulling paper out of your nose for a week."

"What?" Hayner asked in confusion.

"Oh, Zexion's a big bookworm. He's prone to shoving people's faces into his precious tomes when they piss him off," Demyx snickered, most likely remembering a time this had transpired before him.

"Sounds like you got to know him pretty well," Sora pointed out.

"Well we had to share a tent." Demyx explained.

"Oh, me and Riku did that once. Our parents took us on this big trip when we were little on one of the other islands. We ended up getting no sleep because we were joking around all night," Sora laughed, feeling nostalgic all of a sudden.

"You're such a girl," Hayner teased, playfully punching his friend.

"Am not!" Sora shouted indignantly.

"Man, I hope I get a class with Pence," Hayner sighed, holding his head at the headache Sora and Demyx were starting to give him. These two were far too energetic for his tastes.

"What, we're not good enough?" Sora teased in retribution.

"No, you talk to fast and for someone who's always late, you are way too much of a morning person."

"So you tell me," Sora shrugged, putting his hands behind his head like he'd seen Riku do loads of times. Sora hoped it made himself look a little cooler. Not that he would ever say that aloud, of course, but still. It's the thought that counts, right?

_Where is the teacher?_

"Shouldn't she be here?"

"Should we go get someone?"

"Why? Free day for us!"

Kairi sighed. Nearly the entire first half of her English class had passed, and the class still sat in confusion. Students had moved around to sit on one another's desks and speculate what had happened to their teacher. Even Kairi couldn't help but wonder.

"U-um, excuse me," a petite blonde girl spoke to her softly. Kairi blinked and looked at her.

"Yes?" she asked the girl politely, smiling in a friendly manner.

"W-well, I'm new here and I was wondering if you could maybe tell me about this place, a little, if you're not busy,'

"Sure. Sit here, I'll tell you anything you want to know about the island, and I'll tell you anything I know about the school," Kairi answered happily, gesturing to the open seat beside her. The girl sat down delicately and turned her full attention to the teen.

"What's your name?" Kairi started.

"I'm Namine," the blonde answered softly.

"Namine? That's a pretty name. My name's Kairi," the redhead said, smiling, and held out her hand. Namine shook it with a small smile of her own.

"Hello Namine. Doing alright?" a male redhead appeared to their right. Kairi looked up at the tall boy. He had an interesting build. He looked like he had some muscles on his chest, but he had an almost feminine waist and thinner arms than Kairi expected. _He's probably a really good runner,_ she mused absent mindedly.

"I'm ok. I just met a nice girl," Namine answered him in her soft voice. The male turned his attention to Kairi now, who noticed purple tattoos just under his bright green eyes. His eyes seemed like the kind that were always full of emotion, and his hair was a crazy mess of spikes. If Kairi wasn't best friends with Sora, she wouldn't be able to believe such wild spikes could be as natural and gel free as these looked.

"Kairi," she greeted, holding her hand out for him. Axel grinned and held out his hand, lifting the other one to his temple with an overdramatic flourish as he spoke.

"I'm Axel. Got it memorized?" he said cockily. Kairi chuckled and rolled her eyes at his theatrics.

"So where are you two from?" she wondered aloud.

"Hallow Bastion. There was an exchange program," Namine answered softly.

"Oh. Was it just you two, or were there others?" Kairi asked, curious as to just how many new friends she could make this year.

"Seven of us total," Axel answered her, pulling up a seat and sitting in it backwards.

"Speaking of the others, I hope Roxas is ok," Namine said in her soft tone. "He wasn't feeling well this morning,"

"Yeah. Hope he doesn't throw up on his first day," Axel put in, a look of concern clouding his eyes.

"I'm gonna throw up," Roxas muttered, laying his head down pitifully on the desk as the late bell rang at the beginning of class. Larxene rubbed his back gently, resting her chin in her other hand out of boredom as she watched him motherly.

"Welcome to Advanced Algebra 2. And a big welcome to our two exchange students from Hallow Bastion," the teacher welcomed. Roxas sucked in a deep breath and slowly sat up, wishing his stomach would stop convulsing. A brunette girl slowly raised her hand somewhere in the corner of his sapphire eyes.

"S-sir, would it be ok if I gave them a tour?" she asked softly.

"You read my mind, miss…" the teacher trailed off, slowly searching his seating chart.

"Olette," the girl answered softly.

"Miss Olette. Would you please show these two around?" The brunette nodded and stood up, quietly leading them out of the class.

"Wait, aren't you a freshmen?" Larxene asked quizzically.

"H-he looked a little green," Olette confessed, a fait blush rising on her cheeks.

"Oh, I get it. Thanks. Yeah, he's not feeling to good, huh Rox?" the blonde said, turning back to the younger boy. Roxas put on a brave face and tried to stand up straight without swaying.

"I'll be fine," he said through gritted teeth. "Just nauseous from the trip."

"Roxas, we flew here," Larxene said in a monotone.

"So?" Roxas grumbled, not meeting the elder's eyes.

"You want to be a pilot. You've flown loads of times with your older brother. Don't be stupid." Larxene was torn between laughing and smacking him.

"You don't have to play mom just because you're the oldest girl of us," Roxas muttered under his breath. The blonde girl heard him anyway.

"No, but I'm the only one who's ever babysat out of the seven of us, so I'm the only one even the least bit qualified to take care of us all," she stated matter-of-fact-ly.

"We're not eight year olds," Roxas muttered some more before deciding it would be best if he stopped talking.

"Should we go to the nurse?" Olette put in worriedly. Roxas shook his head slowly, attempting to keep himself from collapsing.

"Fine, but if you barf on my shoes, you'll buy me new ones," Larxene threatened halfheartedly. "You must be pretty smart," she added to Olette, turning her attention to the girl.

"Hm? Why's that?" the brunette jumped.

"Well, aside from Amelia Earhart here," Larxene explained, gesturing to Roxas, "you're the only ninth grader I know in Advanced Algebra 2. Sophomores, sure, but not usually freshies."

"Oh, well I guess you're right on that," Olette said softly, scratching the back of her head. "So are you the only eleventh grader in your exchange group?"

"No, there's also Zexion and Marluxia…I think they're in Chemistry right now…" Larxene said darkly.

"Is that bad?" Olette asked in confusion upon seeing the worry that clouded Larxene's eyes.

"Well, those two are probably a bit untrustworthy near chemicals. Zexion has that air of a delinquent about him what with those dark clothes and all, and assuming he ever put forth enough effort to cause anything, he's smart enough to make a good dent in the school. Marluxia tends to make things blow up, and personally I blame Vexen for that. It's nothing too bad most of the time, but I hope they don't burn themselves…"

"Hallow Bastion, huh? What's it like?" Riku asked as the three boys moved their chemical mix onto the Bunsen Burner.

"It's difficult to describe, as we've lived their our whole lives. It would be similar to asking you to attempt to describe Destiny Islands," Zexion said in a monotone. Riku was beginning to think this boy was emotionless.

"Yeah," he said as he thought about it. "Alright, so is your hair naturally pink?" he added to the other boy, raising an eyebrow. Marluxia rolled his eyes.

"Is _your _hair naturally Silver?" the boy snapped. "Of course it is," he continued, not letting Riku answer. "What man do you know who _dyes_ his hair pink?"

"Well why not dye it a different color?" Riku returned, not bothering to point out that he could probably at least on guy who would for fifty bucks.

"Because it's easier to lower people's defenses this way. They think I'm less of a threat and drop their guard," Marluxia smirked arrogantly.

"…right, and that's good?" Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Have you ever tried manipulating someone who didn't trust you? It's much easier when they think you're a joke," Marluxia said in a conspiratorial tone, smirk even more.

"I'll be sure to keep mine up, then," Riku chuckled.

"So, you're the transfers?" a redhead appeared beside them. His lab goggles were on his forehead and his spiky hair hade been shoved hurriedly into a long messy ponytail, though the shorter spikes stuck out in every direction. "Why's your hair pink?"

"Why are your eyes green? I was born that way, genius," Marluxia answered, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Ok, ok, don't need to get your panties in a bunch," the boy said, holding his hands up defensively, though grinning. "How about you-oh shit!" he jumped back as he knocked over the chemicals in his attempt to gesture to Zexion. The boys all jumped back in the small space, but a small drop landed on Marluxia's shirt.

"Shit, shit, here," the boy said hurriedly, grabbing a vial and splashing it on the shirt, which Marluxia was trying to hold away from his body. The acid quickly stopped eating through the cloth when the vial's contents combined with it. The redhead dumped the rest of the chemicals on the acid on the floor, settling it as well.

"Haha, sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly.

"It's fine," Riku sighed, knowing there wasn't anything they could do about it anyway.

"Here, I'll explain to the teacher and give you half of my group's stuff. It's only fair. I'm Reno, by the way," he added of his shoulder as he walked across the room.

"He seems…friendly," Zexion mused with an amused smile barely showing on his lips.

"I'm amazed you understand the concept, emo boy," Marluxia teased.

"I am not emo!" Zexion snarled, rounding on the pinket.

"Here ya go," Reno returned, carefully pouring the chemicals into one of their beakers. "Have fun," he said, walking to the teacher's desk.

"His friends look pissed," Riku chuckled, gesturing discreetly to table where two blonds glared daggers at the redhead, who seemed all too aware of the impending doom.

"They have a right, don't they," Marluxia chuckled.

"Here's hoping he doesn't make this a habit," Zexion said as they began to move on to the next step of their experiment.

"Yeah, we'll have one hell of a year dodging those guys if he keeps it up," Riku laughed.


	3. Mullet Hawk

A/N: So it's been a little while, but that just means I spent more time on this chapter. Well, that's what it _should _mean, but alas…

You'll have to forgive me and monitor me in regards to the FF characters in this story. All I really know about them comes from what Kingdom Hearts gives me and the vague recollections I have from playing the game (FFVII) when I was about six years old. I've gathered bits and pieces through fan fiction and youtube cosplayers, but I'm still more or less in the dark. Have no fear, though. I'm still working on my research-watching walkthroughs of the game (we lost the first disk! T_T), (eye raping ) reading wikipedia, reading more fan fiction, etc. so please just bear with me and let me know if I write someone wrong.

Fun Fact: Last Legend is a joke version of Final Fantasy that I made up. Enjoy.

The bell for lunch came after what felt like days, though it had only been a few hours. The entire student body rushed from their respective classrooms like a flood and surged towards the cafeteria, stopping often to soak the lockers. Soon the throng thinned to puddles of friends here and there. Sora waited diligently in one of those puddles, scanning the hall for more of his friends.

Riku's body of water, in the meantime, had joined forces with Kairi's, forming some sort of super puddle as they flowed down the hall. The group was relatively quiet as they hurried down the hall. Introductions could happen at anytime, but the cafeteria had only so much of the decent, non-cardboard textured pizza, and it went fast. Olette lead her own group and seamlessly merged with the ever growing crowd on their way. Finally, the double doors were in sight as the hungry teens rounded a corner. Sora, who'd been waiting by the doors, hurried to his friends, dragging his puddle with him.

They continued, shoving themselves through the line and obtaining their precious pizza. Zexion, last of their line, took the last piece and consequently thoroughly enraged a short blonde girl who'd joined the line right after their group. Once Demyx had successfully sweet talked her out of murdering Zexion in cold blood, the group moved on to a grassy area outside in the sun. It was far too nice of a day to eat in a stuffy cafeteria full of murderous midgets, after all.

"So?" Kairi asked as she sat on her knees, delicately munching her pizza beside Larxene.

"So what?" Riku asked, taking a much more dedicated bite.

"Aren't you going to introduce your friends?" she said in a what's-wrong-with-you-this-was-an-obvious-'so?' tone.

"I'm sure they can do it themselves," Riku said uncaringly with a shrug. Sora was too engrossed in his food to bother saying anything on the matter. Kairi rolled her eyes and tsked before turning to the blonde on her left.

"This is Namine, and that's Axel," she instigated, pointing to the redhead who sat across from her in their lopsided semi-circle. He was speaking with Roxas in hushed tones, his face turned away from the rest of them as he conversed with the blond, oblivious of all other conversations.

"Cool, I'm Sora!" the brunet on Axel's other side declared, having finished most of his pizza. Riku noted the boy's childish habit of leaving the crust untouched. "And this is Hayner, but some of you know that, but some don't," he continued talking while gesturing to his friend. Hayner was sitting between Olette and Pence, who was on the other side of Roxas. The two best friends were only half listening as they cracked jokes, Olette grinning but trying to tell them off for being rude at the same time.

"Hey, what about me?" Demyx called indignantly from next to Riku. Even though he was acting upset, it was obvious he was entertained nonetheless. Sora grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Yeah, that's Demyx, the guy with the mullet-hawk," he chuckled.

"Mullet-hawk," Demyx tried the name, running his hands up in the mess of hair. He grinned. "I like it!" Beside him, Zexion rolled his eyes and buried his nose deeper in his book.

"The grumpy emo over there is Zexion," Larxene said, successfully capturing the slate haired boy's attention. He narrowed his eyes at her and calculated a way to throw his book at her without hitting Kairi. Deeming it too risky, he simply scowled at her.

"The brunette girl is Olette," Kairi told the exchange students in a feeble attempt to distract them from their staring contest of doom, "and the boy on Hayner's right is Pence." Olette looked up in acknowledgment, but Hayner and Pence were still nearly as oblivious as Axel and Roxas.

"This is Roxas," Olette said softly, pointing at the tuff of blonde hair visible on the other side of Axel.

"Who's the pink haired kid?" Sora asked curiously, rudely pointing at the tall boy on the other side of Larxene.

"That's Marluxia," Riku informed him as he inconspicuously stole the uneaten crust of Sora's pizza.

"How do you spell that?" Sora wondered aloud, his face screwed up in distaste of the complicated thought process his brain had initiated in a pointless attempt to answer his own question. Riku wondered why his best friend thought so much about so little.

"T-H-A-T," a sarcastic yet cheerful voice answered the brunet. Selphie came bouncing into view as she skipped over to Kairi and sat down behind her.

"Since when do you sit with us?" Riku asked with a smirk. Selphie, who was used to him giving her a hard time, stuck her tongue out at him.

"Since forever," she stated mater-of-fact-ly.

"How was your first day?" Kairi asked in a much more welcoming tone. Selphie opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by a shout from behind them. The group turned to see Reno and one of the blond boys from his science class standing and glaring at one another. The blond had his leather bag in his hand.

"It was in here this morning, Reno," he argued.

"And it's probably still there, Cloud," Reno returned. Riku noticed he wore his sunglasses the same way he wore his science goggles.

"'Probably still in here?' You look," Cloud demanded, throwing the bag at the redhead. "Is it in there, Reno?" Cloud asked, arms crossed. Reno frowned as he dug through the bag.

"Where the hell is it?" the pony tailed redhead asked, going so far as to turn the entire thing upside down and let all of Cloud's things tumble to the ground. This seemed to irritate the blond even further.

"That's what I've been asking. Look, if you wanted to borrow the game you could have asked when I showed it to you this morning, but you're the only one who even knew I had Last Legend VII with me today. I promised Tifa I'd show it to her, but I didn't say when."

"Are you saying I stole it?" Reno demanded, sharply turning his head to stare incredulously at Cloud.

"Am I saying you didn't?" Cloud challenged. Reno threw the bag and leapt at Cloud, who was ready with a punch. Suddenly, arms wrapped themselves around Reno's waist and yanked him backward while a hand caught Cloud's punch, pushing him backwards before a fight could really start.

A brunet teen stood between Cloud and the struggling Reno.

"Let go of me, Rufus," Reno complained.

"No," the boy in white answered simply, not releasing his grip. Reno seemed to give up.

"What are you even fighting over?" the brunet asked, arms crossed.

"He thinks I'm a thief," Reno answered instantly.

"My Last Legend game is missing," Cloud explained much more calmly.

"You mean this?" a new voice called as a teen with black hair appeared behind Cloud. The blond looked up to see a game case being waggled in his face. He snatched it and shot a questioning look at the face above him.

"Found it on the floor," the boy said with a shrug.

"See? I'm innocent! Zack had it the whole time," Reno muttered as Rufus finally let him go.

"Fine," Cloud said curtly, turning away from the redhead to clean up his books.

"Well that was entertaining," Selphie said, bringing everyone's attention back to her. Riku finished off Sora's abandoned pizza and stretched out in the grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

"So, who are all these new faces?" Selphie asked, looking from face to face as though they were on display in a museum.

"Oh, right, sorry," Kairi said, hurrying to introduce everyone. "This is Marluxia, Larxene, Namine, Zexion, Demyx, and Axel and Roxas are that two headed cluster beside Sora," she giggled. "Everyone, this is Selphie."

"Hi!" Demyx greeted cheerfully with an enthusiastic wave.

"Hi!" Selphie returned with a grin before turning back to Kairi. "So, you're up for this weekend, right?"

"Of course. It's my turn, after all," the redhead responded.

"Good, I thought you might forget."

"You're the only one who ever forgets, Selphie," Olette giggled. Selphie stuck out her tongue good naturedly before turning her attention back to the exchange students.

"So where are you guys from, anyway?" she asked, stealing one of Kairi's fries.

"Hollow Bastion," Zexion answered curtly, still reading his boring-looking book. Demyx peered over his shoulder at the pages and started snickering. Riku realized he was the only one who saw this, and he was also the only one who noticed Zexion's blush and glare at the mullet-hawk teen. Besides Demyx that was. Demyx definitely noticed.

"Where's that?" Selphie continued to pester them, oblivious to what had just transpired.

"Far away," Larxene answered. "We're not sure exactly where this island is, so we can't really draw you a map to our home. It's somewhere north of here."

"Why'd you come here?"

"To meet new people and experience more of the world," Namine answered softly. "We also have to do a group project of some kind involving all of us and the friends we make here."

"Oh cool! What are you doing?" Selphie pressed on, as bubbly as ever.

"A movie," Marluxia said, pulling a notebook out of his bag. "We had this big camping trip together right before school to plan out what we'd do. We decided a student film would suffice and formed a group of sorts."

"A group?" Kairi asked this time, giving the brunette girl a break from her interrogation.

"Organization X I I I," Demyx proclaimed proudly.

"'X I I I'?" Riku repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"He means thirteen. It's roman numerals, Dem," Zexion explained, shutting his book and pointing to notebook Marluxia had pulled out. While everyone else examined the interesting handwriting on the book's cover, ("It was Namine who designed the letters for us,") Riku was once again the sole witness to something between Demyx and Zexion.

"Did you just call me Dem?" Demyx asked softly with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow.

"…shut up," Zexion muttered, rolling his eyes as his pale face gained a pink tint. Riku saw a bit of a tiny smile underneath the messy bangs that hid the pale boy's face.

"Speaking of the movie, we need to plan it out and decide what it'll be about and everything, but the first thing we need is actors," Larxene said after she'd finished showing off her sister's artistic abilities.

"Wanna be in it?" Demyx offered, acting as though nothing had transpired between himself and Zexion.

"Yeah!" Sora cheered. "That would be awesome! Wouldn't it be awesome, Kairi?"

"Yeah, it would," Kairi smiled at the hyper brunet. Riku nodded to the boy beside him.

"Yay!" Demyx cheered childishly, grinning.

"So why's it named Organization _13_?" Riku asked. "There are only seven of you."

"Because it's Roxas's favorite number," Namine said.

"Roxas's?" Sora repeated for seemingly no reason.

"Yes, and we all agreed that it made for an interesting title," Marluxia responded.

"As an interesting turn of events, it would seem that once you factor in the six of you joining with the seven of us, our number equates to thirteen," Zexion added in.

"Wait, what?" Sora asked, looking as though his brain would implode at any second.

"Oo, I'm good at dumbing down Zexy's smart talk," Demyx proclaimed, bouncing up and down. Riku was beginning to wonder if the others were blind to the things that went on between Zexion and Demyx as Zexion raised his eyebrow questioningly at the shortening of his name. Demyx just grinned and kept talking.

"He said it's funny that we named it Organization XIII because there are seven of us and six of you, not counting that Selphie girl, and seven plus six makes thirteen."

"Oh, I get it. Yeah, that is weird," Sora laughed. Zexion shook his head at the lack of intelligence.

"So what's the movie about anyway?" Selphie asked in a bored tone, having lost interest some time ago. That was probably why Zexion hadn't counted her.

"We have yet to decide," Marluxia answered her simply.

"It should be cool, and full of action, and explosions!" Sora cheered.

"And love, don't forget the romance!" Larxene put in.

"Speaking of romance," Selphie said softly to Kairi, "have you decided who you like yet?"

Kairi blushed lightly. "I'll tell you at our annual sleepover, ok?"

"_Fine_," Selphie moaned, as thought it were physically hurting her to not know. "But don't forget it's at your house this year."

"You told me that already," Kairi laughed. Just then, the bell to end lunch rang.

"I gotta go now, bye!" Selphie called as she quickly dashed off.

"Bye!" Kairi called, waving to her. Olette waved as well.

It seemed not even the bell ringing was enough to snap Axel and Roxas out of their conversation, so Demyx gave Axel a good kick to the side and took off running. Axel leapt up and chased after him, a stream of curses flying from his lips faster than his feet flew over the ground. Kairi noted that she'd been right to judge him a good runner. Demyx didn't stand a chance.

Larxene yelled a motherly warning after them before turning to offer Marluxia a hand. As she helped him up, she noticed the spot where Reno had splashed chemicals onto his shirt.

"Marluxia! What did you do to yourself?" she demanded. Riku laughed as Sora nearly leapt out of his skin when she suddenly yelled.

"I'm not injured. Some chemicals spilled in our science lab," Marluxia explained.

"Zexion!" Larxene scolded as she helped Roxas up. Riku thought the frail blond looked ready to fall over and die.

"It wasn't my fault, Reno did it!" Zexion's argument fell on deaf ears as the motherly blonde had already turned her attention to the half dead freshman. Riku, Sora, and Kairi grouped up together in their usual line and headed off to class, chuckling lightly at the sounds of Zexion arguing with more or less nobody.

A/N II: Also, I need a sport for Riku to play. Suggestions would be very much appreciated, thanks.


	4. I'll Keep That In Mind

A/N: So it's been a while, but you know how it goes. School and stuff. Good news is that exams are over and I'm on break now, so I'm free to be your word slave.  
>In other news; I'm liking this whole outline thing. It keeps me motivated to write, I think. I keep adding to the outline, so this will probably be a long fic ^^; That's your warning to get out now, assuming you aren't addicted to this story already XD Question: Does anyone have any big issues with me changing the rating of this fic to M? If you do, tell me. It'll still go up, but I'll put big warning signs up for you to be able to skip the M stuff. If you don't tell me you're opposed, I won't end up putting the warnings and you'll be ambushed with stuff you didn't want ^^; Speak now or forever hold your peas.<br>Ok, so a lot of this has focused on Sora and Riku and their friends, which, since they're listed as the main characters, is only fitting. But there will be more in the future from the others, too. Like Demyx and Zexion. What were they up to? You'll just have to wait :D  
>This chapter isn't exactly filler-it establishes some important things-but it's not immensely eventful, so I'll throw in something to entertain you and tease you so you keep coming back for more XD Enjoy.<p>

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><p>Sora looked up at the clock on the wall. Just two minutes left of school. Soon he'd be free to run barefoot in the sands of the play island. Well, he would have been, if only he'd been paying attention to what he was doing and not the slow metal hands on the face of the clock.<br>The model volcano his science teacher had the students make as a 'fun way to welcome in the new school year' was apparently far more complex than he had initially thought. The explosion of his hunk of mini-mountain was loud enough to cause all his fellow students to turn their heads. The pink 'lava' he'd splattered on not only himself but also on everything within a six foot radius was enough to bring the teacher to an irritated scowling match with the back of his head. He didn't need to see her face. His I-screwed-up-again radar was enough for him to go by. The sound of her clacking heels as she approached him with a mop and an industrial size roll of paper towels was drowned in the chaos that followed the final bell.  
>"I expect it to be spotless," she said simply, thrusting the cleaning supplies into his chest before stalking back to her desk. Sora sighed and set to work after giving the door a longing look and sending a mental apology to Riku and Kairi.<p>

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><p>Kairi fidgeted for the umpteenth time beside Riku as they waited by their usual lamppost. Riku rolled his eyes at her.<br>"He's always late. You know him as well as I do," the silveret reminded her.  
>"I know, I know, but he's usually a bit less late," Kairi sighed. She nervously brushed some of her hair out of her eyes and looked up and down the Sora-less streets yet again. Riku silently admitted she was right.<br>"It's the first day. He probably got lost," the male shrugged, casually scanning the streets just as attentively as the redhead.  
>"For an hour and a half?" Kairi asked skeptically. Riku checked his watch to be sure. He hadn't realized how late Sora was. He bit his tongue, now even more worried than Kairi. He remembered hearing stories about upperclassmen picking on the freshmen the previous year. He hadn't been targeted, but let's face it, Riku thought. Sora was jail bait. Why wouldn't seniors try to give him a hard time? What if he was locked in a janitor's closet somewhere? What if they shoved him into a gym locker? There were two or three just big enough for Sora to fit in.<br>"Maybe we should go look for him," Kairi pleaded. Riku considered that, but almost instantly thought better of it. If Sora _was_ hurt, he definitely wouldn't want Kairi of all people to know. She would never let him out of her sight again. He'd tell Riku, since they were practically brothers, but Kairi was more of a mother than a violent, over protective big sister. She'd suffocate Sora rather than face whomever hurt the brunet. At least Riku had enough sense to stand up for his friend. Not that he thought Kairi was a coward, she just didn't handle these kinds of situations well.  
>"That's it, I'm going," Kairi insisted, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.<br>"Wait," Riku insisted, putting his hand on her shoulder and pulling the bag off as he stalled.  
>"What?" Kairi hissed, turning to look at him. Her eyes held worry and something else he couldn't place.<br>"No need," Riku sighed with relief, pointing to the brown spikes that had suddenly appeared in the distance. Kairi didn't pick up on the sigh as she visually relaxed and waved enthusiastically to their quickly approaching companion.  
>"Told you so," Riku teased as Sora drew nearer.<br>"Yeah, you did," Kairi's tone was airy as she watched their friend approach. "Thanks," she said softly right before she strode forward to pester Sora.  
>"S-sorry," the spiky-haired teen panted, bent over as he tried to catch his breath. He lifted his head to grin up at the redhead sheepishly. Riku walked over to them, hands in his pockets.<br>"Took you long enough," he said, thumping the younger boy in the back of the head with his arm as Sora started to stand up straight.  
>"Ow," Sora laughed, taking a step back and holding the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I kinda blew a volcano up, and the teacher made me stay and clean it up."<br>"It took you an hour and a half to clean up baking soda and vinegar?" Riku inquired, raising an eyebrow.  
>"There was a lot," Sora laughed, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. Kairi shook her head at their friend.<br>"You messed up your uniform shirt, too," she sighed, examining the pink stains all over the brunet's white shirt. He looked as if he'd bathed in strawberry milk. Sora laughed out another sheepish sorry.  
>"Well c'mon, let's go to the island," Riku said, scooping up Kairi's abandoned backpack from the base of the lamppost and shouldering it.<br>"Oh, Riku, you don't have to," Kairi kept insisting as the three walked towards the place on the beach where they docked their boats. Riku simply shrugged as he stepped onto the wooden pier and walked to his boat.  
>"They're really small, if you think about it," Sora noted, remembering his younger days. "The boats, I mean,"<br>"No kidding. We used to be able to both ride in my boat and have room for a book bag each and a sack of candy," Riku laughed, hopping into his boat and setting his and Kairi's bags on the bench across from him. There was no room left in the boat, aside from space to maybe store the oars. Sora untied Riku's boat before jumping into his own and settling his bag as well. Kairi untied the little wooden boat for him and stepped carefully into her own, less willing to jump in the required skirt she was wearing. She reached over and unanchored her own rowboat before taking up the oars and pulling up alongside the boys, who were waiting patiently for her.  
>"Race?" Sora offered, mischief in his eyes.<br>"You're on," Riku grinned.  
>"Sure. Loser has to lick a Paupu tree," Kairi teased.<br>"Three…two…one…GO!" Sora cheered, rowing as hard as he could. Riku kept up with him easily but seemed to make no effort to overtake the enthusiastic freshman. Kairi lagged behind them slightly, rowing hard to keep up. As they neared the island, Sora began to slow. His energy was running down a bit. This made him even with Kairi and put Riku in first. The oldest grinned back at his friends and began rowing harder, having reserved his strength for the final stretch to ensure his tongue would be tree-free. He docked long before the other two had reached the shallower water and tied his boat to a post. Lounging comfortably in the sun's rays on the little strip of wood, he smirked at the other two as they finally reached the land. They were out of breath but smiling happily anyway as they sat on either side of him and panted lightly.  
>"Kairi's gotta lick a tree," Sora said softly in a sing-song tone.<br>"I know, I know," the girl chuckled, rolling her eyes. Riku smirked at her.  
>"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.<br>"You gotta lick a tree," he teased, laying down to stare at the clouds.  
>"Fine, I'm going, I'm going," Kairi insisted as she got up and began walking inland. Sora leapt up and trailed her, not about to miss this. Riku sighed and rolled over before rising to his feet and jogging easily after them, not at all phased by the extensive rowboat race. Kairi marched up to the nearest tree in a manner akin to a brave preschooler marching up to the playground bully. She glanced at both boys before sighing hopelessly and sticking out her tongue, delicately pressing it against the bark.<br>"Oh gross," she muttered, screwing up her face in disgust and pulling away quickly. Sora snickered and Riku chuckled at their friend's reaction.  
>"It was your own fault, you know," Riku pointed out as they headed back to the dock to grab their bags.<br>"I know," Kairi sighed as she took her bag from him.  
>"So, Sora, aside from blowing pink chunks all over a classroom, do anything interesting today?" Riku asked as he and Kairi stood waiting from Sora to pull his bag out of his boat. The strap had gotten stuck on one of the benches somehow. Riku was pretty sure only Sora could manage something like this. Or rather, only Sora's things could. Sora wasn't skilled enough to get caught under a bench.<br>"Well, my first period teacher apparently sleeps through the entire class, so that was weird. He threw his attendance list at us without even taking role." Sora finally managed to get the uncooperative bag under control and stood up straight to face his friends.  
>"He threw it at you?" Kairi repeated in disbelief, her eyes wide as though she'd considered teaching faculty incapable of being so inept.<br>"Yup. Tossed it halfway across the room," Sora emphasized as the three friends strolled leisurely over to their favorite tree.  
>"Wow. My first period teacher didn't even show up for class," Kairi informed them.<br>"Am I the only one who actually worked today?" Riku raised an eyebrow as he glanced sideways at his friends. Their tree was in sight now.  
>"If you call being a dumb ass working," Sora snickered. He had to quickly dodge Kairi's slap as she scowled at Riku for polluting Sora's innocent mind.<br>"How was I being a dumb ass?" Riku asked, watching Sora run around him in fear of their redhead's violence with a look of mild interest and amusement on his face.  
>"You guys got acid on yourselves," Sora laughed before dashing to the tree and clinging to it as though it were a shield against Kairi's onslaught of violent justice. The brunet winced in pain when the girl proved to be shield-proof.<br>"That was only Marluxia, and it was Reno's fault," Riku defended himself as he swung his bag off his shoulder and set it at the base of the tree.  
>"What, too good to do homework like the rest of us?" Sora asked as he vaulted over the tree to set his bag down beside Riku's. Kairi followed suit, choosing to walk around the trunk instead, though.<br>"Don't have any," Riku said, his tone suggesting this was an obvious conclusion. Which it was.  
>"Lucky!" Sora moaned as he began digging through his bag. "It figures the guy who didn't have a teacher-less class is the only one without homework," the younger mumbled.<br>"Actually, Sora," Kairi said hesitantly, looking slightly uncomfortable, "I don't have any homework, either." She blushed as if this was something to be embarrassed about. Riku noted that this was one of those moments when the innocence of his friends decided to be almost painfully obvious. No amount of foul language could disguise the fact that Sora was still a kid at heart. He was just a kid with an extensive vocabulary.  
>"Et tu, Kairi?" Sora said with a crushed expression on his face.<br>"Do you even know the origins of that line?" Riku asked, laughing lightly. Sora decided not to answer, which meant no, and Riku let it go, deciding today was not the day for lessons on Julius Caesar. Or Latin, for that matter.  
>"Don't worry, I'll still help you," Kairi assured the spikey-haired one quickly. Sora sighed but seemed a little less miffed.<p>

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><p>0107 Oblivion Lane was relatively quiet, taking the size of the white building and the number of occupants into consideration. Larxene was away, searching for a part time job, apparently, while Roxas was miserable in his bed. Namine was watching television and doodling in her precious white book whilst lounging on the couch, and Axel and Marluxia were mysteriously absent, each doing something they decided not to disclose to their fellow residents. The remaining two Hallow Bastianites sat on a blue bedspread, conversing.<br>"So where are you going, again?" Demyx asked, looking up at the short boy seated beside his head. Zexion glanced down at the owner of the bed, who was lounging quite happily.  
>"Work, Demyx," the slate haired teen answered with more patience than most had for Demyx.<br>"Yeah, but where's 'Work, Demyx?'" the green eyed male grinned playfully, his smile, Zexion noted, brightening the entire room.  
>"Where I'm going," Zexion answered with a smirk, eyes roaming over the poorly taped up band posters in the messy bedroom. Demyx laughed and rolled his pretty eyes.<br>"I got a job at the bookstore in town," Zexion added to satisfy some of the wannabe musician's curiosity.  
>"Why?" Demyx asked, his procrastinating mind unable to fathom willingly taking on more work than was necessary.<br>"Because while the school was kind enough to provide us with room and board, it took a lot of money to get us here, and it's up to us to come up with the money needed to feed ourselves on our own. Larxene is getting a job as well, you're aware. Perhaps you should look into joining the work force." Zexion felt a smile coming on as he wondered how Demyx could have such an eternal grin.  
>"I could perform at events, I guess," Demyx shrugged, not too concerned.<br>"Which reminds me, the store manager told me they're considering holding open mic type events for poets and musicians to come in and perform. She's convinced it'll bring good publicity to the store. I'm sure you would receive invitations to perform at parties and the like if you participated."  
>"And then I'd get to see your adorable ass at work, wouldn't I?" Demyx chuckled. Zexion grinned.<br>"Not if I get fired for being late today," he answered, leaning down to kiss the blond before him.  
>"Alright, you can go. But to regain admittance, you'll have to pay with more than a kiss," Demyx teased.<br>"I'll keep that in mind," Zexion said as he left the bedroom.

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><p>"Aaaaaand…done!" Sora proclaimed, dotting his final 'i' with a look of pure satisfaction. Kairi smiled and offered to look over his work for any errors but he shook his head. "I already made you wait for way too long, and then you helped me with this. Look, the sun's going to set. Let's just relax together. All three of us," he looked over his shoulder with a smile at Riku, who nodded his approval. Sora hastened to put his things away as Kairi pulled herself up onto the trunk of their island tree. Sora scampered up beside her, sitting between his two friends with a bag of gummy worms in his hands.<br>"Want some?" he offered his friends as he opened the bag. Kairi politely declined while Riku took a handful without hesitation.  
>"You'll get fat if you eat too much candy, Sora," he teased, holding the fake worms over his head, preparing to drop them one by one into his open mouth.<br>"Then why are you eating so many?" Sora laughed  
>"I'm immune to weight gain. I'm too cool to be fat," Riku shrugged, eating happily.<br>"Yeah, ok," Sora rolled his eyes. Kairi giggled beside him.  
>"You two never stop squabbling, do you? Remember when we had to climb to be able to get up on this tree and watch the sunsets? You used to fight over who was going to help me up," she laughed some more at the memory. Sora and Riku looked at one another and chuckled as well.<br>"We sure had fun playing on this island," Sora said, eyes twinkling with the memories flowing through his head.  
>"Yeah. You think we'll ever change?" Riku asked softly. His question was met with silence as the others pondered and watched the sun slowly falling down under the waters.<br>"No way!" Sora finally concluded in the last rays of the day. "It's been years since we first came here together, and we still play and fight like before. Things'll always be the same for us. Even after we've grown up."  
>"…yeah," Riku nodded, grinning. "You're right, Sora. Things'll always be this way."<p> 


	5. Ricky

A/N: So I've gotten a few reviews on another unrelated story of mine recently. They politely pointed out my flaws and I got a chance to fix my little story for the better. I like that. As always, if you catch any mistakes, please let me know.  
>How do you like the cover? This chapter's a little late because I spent a few days working on the cover instead ^^;<br>Since this is still the beginning of our tale, a lot of what's going on is setting down ground work for the future chapters. The next few chapters will be the big ones that kick everything into action, though it may be hard to tell at first. Please be patient with me.  
>Fun Fact: The plot Sora shares is actually the plot of an original story of mine.<br>Enjoy.

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><p><em>A bout of silver swam through the calm ocean waters effortlessly. The water was shockingly clear here, almost as though one were swimming through blue tinted glass. Fish darted here and there in their beautiful home. Up ahead, something else swam. The silver surfaced for air. From up ahead, the same voice caught between adolescence and childhood poured into the water and was carried down to the silver. It was calling cheerfully, playfully. That handsome voice from before fell into the water with a gentle splash and flowed against the current, flowing on up ahead as the silver returned to the ocean and swam in the same direction. Following the colors of that innocent voice and leaving a trail of breathy voice pouring into the water behind, the silver swam harder. Glimpses of chestnut were scattered between the clear blue waves and the ever flowing sharper voice. The silver grew nearer and nearer, until it surfaced beside the chestnut. Just as before, a breathy, mirth filled, adolescent laugh dripping with boyish charm and handsome features poured into the air to swirl and mix with a laugh filled with innocence and amusement before the mixture slipped down into the water.<em>

Riku allowed himself to drift back to his mysterious dream from the previous night as he droned out the chemistry teacher's insistent lecture. Somewhere deep in his mind he attempted to figure the chances of this particular lecture being neglected by his government mandated textbook. The good student in him was currently being undermined by the analytical portion of his brain that was contemplating the recurring theme of his latest nighttime imaginings.  
><em>The voices are key.<br>_Something inside of him knew the answer, but withheld it with smug confidence, the knowledge that a juicy bit of information he wanted was solely in it's possession. It resolved to dropping hints instead, something Riku was normally ok with, except this didn't involve Riku alone. The sea-foam eyed teen was positive the chestnut color in his dream was Sora. Never before had he seen such a color on anyone else.  
>"<em>Pst, Riku,<em>" Zexion hissed a warning to the boy sitting across the aisle from him as their teacher glanced at the zoned-off silveret during his speech. The blond man, who resembled someone from back at Hallow Bastion, though Zexion couldn't quite place who, had narrowed his green eyes and was making his way towards them without missing a word.  
><em>It was the same voice, too, so Sora must've been in the last dream…<br>_Marluxia glanced at the dazed teen with mild interest and made no attempt to warn him even though they were close enough for him to discreetly kick the silveret's desk.  
><em>I need more information…<br>_Reno proved that a good kick wasn't enough to snap Riku out of it anyway as the bored redhead who sat behind the green-eyed boy decided to tap out a beat on the chair leg in front of him.  
><em>Will I have another one of these dreams?<br>_"And so, once combined with hydrogen atoms, the resulting mixture is paying attention in my class. I'd appreciate it if my students could do so on their own, however, Mr…" The teacher trailed off to glance at his seating chart and rap on the desk with a yardstick. That seemed to do the trick, as Riku nearly leapt out of his skin and had to bite back a yell of surprise, "…Ricky," the teacher finished, looking up from his chart. "Care to inform us what scientific epiphany you've just reached?" Several students snickered at the silver haired boy who clearly hadn't the vaguest idea what had been discussed whilst he'd been locked away in his own head. He did know one thing, however.  
>"It's Riku, sir," he corrected gently.<br>"Hm?" the teacher blinked, glancing back at the chart. "Ah, you're correct. Either way, Mr. Riku, I'm sure the class would love to hear of your findings." Riku didn't have an answer. "No? Well then, until you're ready to teach, I suggest you listen to me when I do it. Maybe you'll learn a few pointers. Now, as I was saying…"

"Hey, wait please," a voice called out to Riku as he was about to leave the classroom and meet Marluxia and Zexion in the hallway. He halted and looked over his shoulder at the redhead who'd called out to him. She was a senior, he noted. She proved to be a little clumsy as she hurried after him, stumbling a bit as if she were new to the concept of legs. Her hair was redder than Kairi's, but not by much.  
>"Ricky, right?" she stated when she stood in front of him. They were about the same height.<br>"Riku," the silveret corrected, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. This girl was too ditsy for him to really blame.  
>"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Ariel," she said, extending a hand. Riku took it so as not to come off as cold, though he eyed her skeptically. He waited for her to continue, and eventually she got the hint.<br>"I was wondering, are you dating anyone right now?" she asked. Riku blinked. It'd been a little bit since he'd been asked out. Something caused him to hesitate as he was about to answer the senior before him.  
>"I'm…not really looking for a relationship right now…" Riku said, abiding to the mysterious wishes from some obscure part of himself. He didn't see why he should turn the nice girl down, but he decided it'd be best to trust his instincts.<br>"I see," Ariel said, seeming a bit let down. "Well, let me know if you change your mind," she said before leaving. Riku simply nodded, left with his conflicting thoughts.

"What was the hold up?" Marluxia asked as he, Riku, and Zexion walked down the hallway.  
>"That senior girl from our class,"<br>"The one with red hair?" Zexion interrupted curiously. Riku nodded and continued.  
>"She held me back to ask if I was in a relationship."<br>"Are you?" Zexion asked, raising an eyebrow at the somber tone the silver haired teen beside him had adopted.  
>"Haven't been for a while now," Riku answered, temporarily thinking back.<br>"So what happened?" Marluxia continued, his tone suggesting he was only half interested.  
>"I turned her down."<br>"May I ask why?" Zexion glanced sideways at Riku, reading him with those intelligent violet orbs of his.  
>"…I'm not sure," Riku shrugged. "See you," he added when they reached the intersection in the hallway where they split to go their separate ways.<p>

Riku was addressed as Ricky seven more times that day before he finally made it to is free period. One of the lucky few who had fourth period, just before lunch, class free, Riku decided to put all his things into his locker rather than cart a heavy bag around for the next two hours.  
>"Riku," a voice called him by the right name for once as he pulled open the metal box.<br>"Yeah?" he answered without looking to see who it was.  
>"We're meeting up in the same place today for lunch," the person continued. Riku closed his locker and turned to find himself being addressed by Larxene.<br>"Okay?" Riku felt like she was trying to imply something. The blonde's eyes seemed to be imploring him to say something more. Apparently giving up, she sighed overdramatically at him.  
>"We need to plan out our film," she explained. Riku nodded, remembering what he'd gotten himself into. Larxene seemed satisfied and promptly walked away, finished with him. Riku sighed and wandered down the hall, debating on where he wanted to spend his free time. He didn't get far before he was stopped by someone else.<br>"Hello, Riku," a tall man with long silver hair greeted him. His green, cat-like eyes were focused coolly on Riku's face.  
>"Hello, Coach Sephiroth," Riku greeted back calmly.<br>"I take you'll be attending the tryouts this Saturday afternoon?" the black-clad coach asked him. Riku nodded once. "Good," was all he got before his fellow silveret turned and walked away. Riku tried not to shiver from how cold the tall man acted. Something about the tall coach always gave him the impression he was disliked. His parents insisted he be on the basketball team, though, so for now, Riku would just have to deal with it. With a sigh, he carried on his wandering.

"Where's Roxas?" Olette asked as she, Hayner, and Pence were the last ones to sit down in the grass with their lunches.  
>"He finally gave in and decided to stay home," Namine answered, glancing at the empty spot beside Axel. Roxas had progressively been growing paler and paler, if that were even possible, given his state on the first day.<br>"So, we're talking about the movie?" Sora asked Larxene. She blinked and turned her attention from Roxas's empty space to Sora.  
>"We need to decide what the story should be about," she informed them.<br>"Which one of us is going to write it?" Riku asked in a half interested tone. His mind was more focused on his recurring dreams and the tryouts at the moment.  
>"We'll get to that later. For starters, we need a plot to write about," she explained. Her tone suggested she was talking to third graders. Riku wondered how the others put up with living with her. She was already too motherly for his liking, and then she had her way of talking down to everyone.<br>"There should be adventure!" Sora cheered.  
>"What kind of an adventure?" Zexion asked, not looking up from that book of his. Riku vaguely wondered what could possibly be so interesting about a book that thick and old looking. Sure, Zexion might be into that stuff, but more than once he'd seen Demyx glance over Zexion's shoulder to read it as well.<br>"It has to have love in it too," Olette added in softly. Kairi nodded in agreement.  
>"We could…" Namine began but dropped off randomly and went back to her drawing.<br>"Do you have an idea?" Demyx asked her. Everyone stopped throwing out ideas for a moment to listen to the small blonde girl.  
>"W-well, I just thought, maybe, we could revamp a fairy tale, or something," she said softly, not looking up.<br>"I love fairy tales," Kairi said dreamily.  
>"What one should we do?" Pence wondered aloud.<br>"Well, what all ones are there?" Sora started.  
>"Cinderella," Kairi supplied instantly.<br>"Beauty and the Beast," Marluxia offered.  
>"That sounds too hard to do," Hayner pointed out. A muttered consensus of agreement flowed through their small circle.<br>"Sleeping Beauty," Axel brought up.  
>"Red Ridding Hood," Demyx added in.<br>"Oh, I had to write a remake on that once for a school paper!" Sora proclaimed, practically bouncing up and down.  
>"What'd you do with it?" Demyx asked.<br>"It's at home somewhere," Sora answered simply, taking a drink of his chocolate milk. Riku sipped from his own water bottle, not able to understand why anyone would drink the overly sweetened, watered down drink the school sold as milk. Sora's milk mustache argued his approval.  
>"I believe the intention behind that question was to receive information on the plot of your school paper, Sora," Zexion clarified. Sora blinked a couple of times, trying to work out what the slate haired teen was trying to say. Riku sighed when it became clear Sora was lost.<br>"He wants to know what you did to the fairy tale in your paper," he explained, stealing one of the brunet's fries as payment.  
>"Oh, well see there were different tribes of wolves and they were at war with the people. There were specially trained messenger girls who all wore red clothes with hoods, and the best had red hair, and they brought battle plans to the general codenamed Granny. One of the Red Hoods went through the enemy forest and nearly got killed, but a wolf general recognized her sent because it turned out she'd saved his pup a long time ago. Well, long for wolves, cause of dog years and all. Anyway, so he guides her through the forest but keeps trying to take her basket, where she hid her message."<br>"_You _wrote all that?" Hayner interrupted. Sora grinned sheepishly as the others stared at him.  
>"I like it," Namine said softly after a bit.<br>"Yeah! Alright, bring that paper next week and we'll look over it," Larxene said.

"Hey Kairi?" Sora turned to the redhead beside him as they were walking down the hall after fifth period.  
>"What is it, Sora?" Kairi asked him, waving to Selphie as they walked past her.<br>"Are you doing anything this weekend?" Sora asked, his cheeks turning a very light shade of pink. "'Cause I was wondering if you, maybe, wanted to come over and watch a movie with me…I can ask Riku too, if you want," he added hurriedly.  
>"Oh, I'm sorry, Sora," Kairi said, turning to look him in the eyes. "Selphie, Olette, and I have our annual sleepover this weekend. We do it at the start of every school year."<br>"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Sora said, rubbing the back of his neck.  
>"I'm really sorry," Kairi insisted, stopping in front of the door to her classroom. "Maybe Riku can go," she added.<br>"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'm sure Riku can come over."

"I can't come over."  
>"What? Why not?" Sora asked his friend after sixth period.<br>"I'm sorry, Sora. Saturday's basketball tryouts. I'll be there all day, and I've got to work on my essay on Sunday."  
>"But Riku! I'll <em>die<em> of boredom!" Sora insisted.  
>"Ask Kairi to hang out with you," Riku shrugged.<br>"I did," Sora sighed. "She's got that sleepover thing she does every year."  
>"What a weird tradition," Riku mumbled. "You can ask one of the exchange kids to hang out with you. Or Hayner or someone," Riku shrugged.<br>"Yeah," Sora sighed. "I know, I'll ask Demyx!"

"How many people did you tell?" Sora gasped as he opened the front door for the third time in the past two minutes.  
>"Let's see, I told Roxas and Axel, but Roxas is sick, so he can't come, and Axel said he'd keep him company. Larxene's staying home to watch them. She won't let Namine go anywhere without her, either, so she's not gonna come. I told Zexy here and Marluxia there," Demyx said, gesturing to the short teen by his side on the couch and the tall pinket in the doorway. "I also told those other three, but Olette said she had a slumber party to go to, so she won't be coming. So that just leaves Hayner and Pence. It's not that many people…"<br>"Not that many? Aerith said I could have one or two friends over!" Sora panicked at the door.  
>"Oh, well, sorry man," Demyx said, sounding genuinely sorry even though the sentence itself wasn't that apologetic. Hayner and Pence arrived on the door step moments later. Sora sighed.<br>"Nothing we can do about it now, is there?" he asked no one in particular.  
>"That's my motto," Pence grinned as the two walked into the living room.<br>"So what are we watching, anyway?" Hayner added, throwing himself into the arm chair to the left.  
>"My sister rented Sherlock Holmes," Sora said, closing the front door and heading to the DVD player. He set the movie in and let it play the previews as he went off to make lots of popcorn. He'd made four bowls full before he decided he had enough and carried them out one by one. The hungry teenage boys devoured the popcorn long before the movie was over, throwing pieces into each other's mouths and just plain throwing pieces at one another, the movie all but forgotten.<br>"Well, this has been enjoyable," Zexion stated once the movie had ended. Sora looked at the popcorn on the floor and just laughed.  
>"Yeah, too bad I gotta clean up," he joked. The others chuckled and helped put the popcorn bowls away.<br>"What do ya say we make this a usual thing?" Demyx offered up. Sora nodded.  
>"Definitely."<br>"I have no objections," Zexion put in.  
>"I'm cool with that,"<br>"Yeah, sounds fun!" Pence added to Hayner's remark.  
>"It's settled then," Marluxia said as he left the house.<br>"Deal. Every Saturday," Sora grinned.


	6. Whom

A/N: So I just got back from a three day sleepover to find that my next chapter is planned to be about Kairi's sleepover. Talk about timing. This chapter's a bit short, sorry. We're nearly to the good parts of this story ^^ I can't wait to show you what I have in store. Next chapter's about Roxas. Send me some good jokes! I need them!  
>Ten points to whoever figures out the real name of the band Riku listens to. Twenty points to whoever names the first song that comes up when the stereo is turned on.<br>Enjoy.

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><p>Kairi was putting the finishing touches on her cake when the cliché ding-dong tone of her doorbell echoed into the kitchen. Wiping her hands and hanging up her pink apron, the redhead left the kitchen and strolled to the wooden front door at the other end of the hall. A pair of cheerful brunettes met her eyes, each smiling.<br>"Hi Kairi!" Selphie cheered, pushing past Kairi and dancing down the hall to the living room door at the right.  
>"Good morning, Selphie," Kairi giggled, stepping aside to let the much less hyper Olette follow Selphie's footsteps. The hyper girl was already spinning into the living room and playing with the stereo. A pretty song about being superman began to play, but was quickly changed before Kairi and Olette had even taken three steps down the hall.<br>"What's this?_!_" Selphie jumped as the notes of an electric guitar reverberated around the room.  
>"Fracturing Franklin," Kairi answered as she closed the living room door behind herself. Olette and Selphie looked at her with confused expressions.<br>"Riku listens to them," the hostess shrugged as she changed the radio station once again.  
>"Ooooh, stop there, that's Blue!" Selphie cheered as the blue haired woman's voice came from the speakers. Kairi laughed and left the stereo, heading back into the hall to grab Selphie's bag, which she had tossed to the side when she came prancing in.<br>"We're sleeping up in my room tonight," Kairi called down the hall, heading towards the stairs. Her friends' okay's drifted towards her as she began carrying Selphie's bag up to the attic, where her room dominated the entire third floor.  
>The young teen carefully set her friend's bag on the air mattress Selphie always laid claim to when she slept over and crossed the room to her window. It was open in hopes of tempting a nice breeze to come cool the hot attic air, though it didn't seem to be having much luck. Looking out, she could see several houses down her street, and the faint outline of Sora's house in the distance. Riku lived in the opposite direction. Kairi smiled at the thought of her closest male friends and turned to return to her guests downstairs when she noticed something odd. A car with the local doctors' office's name painted on the side was driving down a street not too far away. Was the doctor making a house call? That was really rare. She bit her lip, hoping everything was all right. Making a mental note to call her grandmother later, Kairi decided it would be best not to worry too much about a single odd occurrence and promptly opened her bedroom door and started down the stairs.<br>"-and Yuna told me she saw Tidus skipping classes last week when she was on her way to the bathroom. So, most likely he was planning on spying on them, though I don't know why he'd bother," Selphie was informing Olette when Kairi returned.  
>"Bother doing what?" the redhead asked, confused.<br>"Spy on Wakka and his girlfriend," Olette explained.  
>"What would he do that for?" Kairi asked.<br>"That's what I just said," Selphie sighed. "They're best friends after all, aren't they? If he wanted to know about what's-her-name, started with an L I think, he could just ask, couldn't he?"  
>"Why does it matter what he does?" Olette asked softly.<br>"You know Selphie, gossiping is her life," Kairi giggled. Selphie grinned.  
>"<em>Speaking <em>of gossip," Selphie purred turning to the redhead, "you promised you'd tell us who you like!"  
>"Whom," Olette corrected gently as Kairi's face turned pink.<br>"Why don't we play a game," she stalled. Olette smiled weakly at her companion's attempt to change the topic. Selphie looked irritated for a moment. Then her eyes lit up.  
>"Ok, only if I can pick the game," she agreed. Kairi knew it wasn't a good idea, but Selphie's persistence at getting a good chunk of juicy gossip couldn't be avoided either way. If she was careful, she had a better chance of dodging the topic during a game.<br>"Alright, what do you want to play?" she asked slowly.  
>"Truth or Dare," Selphie grinned. Kairi sighed; she should have seen that coming.<br>"Alright, you first then," she conceded.  
>"Kairi, truth or dare?" The bouncy brunette wasted no time.<br>"Dare," Kairi answered quickly, since the truth question was obvious. She was put off a bit by the smirk on her nosey friend's lips.  
>"I dare you to tell us who your crush is," she said, her smirk turning into a full on shit-eating grin. Kairi sighed. Both girls watched her attentively.<br>"Whom," Olette added in as Selphie's poor grammar skills registered in her brain.  
>"It's…it's Riku," she sighed, her cheeks flaring up. Selphie fell backwards overdramatically.<br>"_Riku?_!" she nearly shouted. Olette looked torn between laughing at their companion's antics and questioning Kairi.  
>"Is that such a bad thing?" Kairi blushed, not making eye contact with her friends.<br>"Well, not really, but I mean…_Riku?_!"  
>"She has a point," Olette said softly. "You hit Sora every time he says a curse word, and, well, Riku's the reason he says them, after all."<br>Kairi blushed and looked down. "Well, whom did you expect?"  
>"Duh, <em>Sora<em>!" Selphie said, as though it were the most obvious answer. Perhaps to everyone else, it was. Kairi cringed.  
>"No, Sora's like a little brother to me. I could never date him, he's too…"<br>"…much of a goody-goody?" Selphie offered. "Kairi has a bad boy complex!" she cheered, bursting into a giggle fit.  
>"Oh yeah, Miss Smarty-Pants? Truth or Dare?" Kairi shot back, embarrassed. Olette sighed, knowing a war was about to break out.<br>"Truth of course," Selphie answered instantly.  
>"Spill the beans about your crush," Kairi said confidently. It was the brunette's turn to blush.<br>"Hey, you're just asking my question," she protested.  
>"It's not against the rules," Kairi shrugged, grinning. Selphie sighed.<br>"Okay, okay…I like Tidus," she said softly.  
>"What about you, Olette?" Kairi added, turning to their quiet friend. Olette blushed bright red.<br>"Oh, n-no, I don't really have anyone I like at the moment…I just got out of a relationship," she chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. Kairi couldn't remember Olette ever dating anyone, but she let it go.  
>"So it's my turn, right?" Selphie asked, drawing attention back to herself. Kairi and Olette nodded. "Truth or dare, Kairi?"<br>"Me again?" Kairi blinked. "…Dare," she decided.  
>"I dare you…" Selphie trailed off, thinking hard. Kairi bit her lip as Selphie apparently thought of something good and grinned mischievously. "I dare you to tell Sora you're a lesbian," she snickered.<br>Kairi's eyes widened as she thought about what would happen. If she told Sora that, he'd either run straight to Riku and tell him, or he'd try to hide it and Riku would figure it out. She wasn't afraid they'd abandon her or anything like that; she was pretty sure she'd overheard Riku talking fondly about lesbians to one of his friends before. She was, however, terrified that the boys would believe her, and then where would she be? It could prove difficult to try to win over the heart of your best friend when he thought you were interested in a completely different gender than his. Not to mention the brother-sister bond he probably felt between them.  
>Selphie was beside herself with laughter. She was literally rolling on the floor, which made Kairi blush more out of annoyance than anything else.<br>"Th-then…I dare you to tell Tidus that _you're _a lesbian," she snapped back. Selphie's laughter was instantly eradicated.  
>"That's not fair!" the brunette called, sitting up straight. "You didn't say truth or dare!"<br>"Are you too chicken to do your own dare?"  
>"No!" Selphie blushed. She <em>was<em> too chicken, but there was no way she'd admit that. "I'll do it if you do it," she insisted. Olette shifted awkwardly beside them.  
>"Hey, let's, uh, let's do something else…" she trailed off. Kairi and Selphie were having a challenging staring contest of some kind. "Here's an idea! We could…we could make cookies… You know, to give Riku and Tidus…"<br>Kairi and Selphie stared at one another for a few more seconds before nodding to Olette. The curly haired girl sighed with relief and led the way to the kitchen, hoping her friends would get along now.  
>"What kind of cookies should we make, anyway?" Selphie asked, bouncing to the pantry closet on the other side of the room. Kairi put a lid on her cake and set it aside.<br>"Well, I'm going to make peanut butter cookies-those are Riku's favorite," she said.  
>"Peanut butter? I thought he was allergic to nuts!" Selphie nearly yelled, knocking over a few cans of paopu juice in her attempt to grab some chocolate chips she'd spotted.<br>"No, that's Sora. And it's only peanuts; he can have cashews and stuff," Kairi said.  
>"Well <em>I'm<em> making chocolate chip marshmallow cookies," Selphie proclaimed, grabbing the plastic bag of fluffy white treats she'd just noticed.  
>"I think I'll make plain chocolate chip," Olette said shyly as Kairi grabbed the flour they'd need.<br>"Who are you making your cookies for, Olette?" Selphie asked in a sly tone of voice. Olette blushed.  
>"Oh, you know, just my friends," she said awkwardly, turning quickly to help Kairi find the things they'd need. Selphie snickered.<p> 


	7. Cub

A/N: So I finished 358/2 Days :D So many emotions! I find the game in every song I hear now XD I also stayed up all night and finished a book I needed to finish, so so far so good.  
>Xion probably won't be in this story, actually. They might mention her by name at some point, but I don't think she'll end up having any role in this tale. She's back in Hallow Bastion with the other missing members of Org. XIII.<br>There's an italicized paragraph down near the end. It's nothing too serious, but the squeamish may want to skip it. Feel free to message me if there's ever something skip worthy that you want to hear a clean summary of.  
>My f key is falling off. D:<br>[EDIT] I received the book Collide by J. R. Lenk in the mail yesterday. I finished it last night and I'm still hit with random waves of emotions when I think about this story. The writing has amazing power and I just can't put into words how beautiful this story is. It's not about perfection, in fact it plays up on human impurities like insecurity and jealousy and it's just an amazing tale. J. R. is actually one of us-a fan fic writer. His pen name is White Silver and Mercury, and his work is absolutely amazing. He's more than half the reason Lost Consistency is what it is; when I first started this story I was striving to improve my writing capabilities because his had inspired me. [EDIT END]  
>Enjoy.<p>

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><p>A light moan echoed through the air of the black and white bedroom as a messy haired blond adolescent rolled over. His forehead was burning and he felt sore all over. His headache was borderline migraine and he hadn't been able to eat anything for the past three days without spewing it into the nearest bucket ten minutes later. He wrapped his checkered bedspread tighter about himself and wished he could just curl up and die there.<br>"Morning, Roxas," a high voice spoke as his door squeaked open. Roxas would have hissed if wasn't too busy cringing at the noise. His curtains were drawn tightly to keep even the faintest ray of light from slipping in. Larxene squinted through the darkness as she came in with a bowl of soup Roxas knew he'd hate. Something about tasting it after it sat in his stomach seemed to take away the fun of eating chicken noodle. He'd have groaned in misery if it wouldn't make him scream in pain from his headache. So much for borderlines.  
>Larxene set the venomous bowl down on his desk and walked over to him with a thermometer. Roxas inwardly sighed and opened his mouth just enough for the instrument to probe the underside of his tongue. Its cruel, high pitch beep sent another arrow of pain through Roxas's head before Larxene quickly took it back and read the numbers Roxas knew would be too high. Larxene sighed despondently and walked back to the desk.<br>"Morning," a deeper voice greeted from the door. The new arrival made sure not to touch the door so as to avoid metaphorically stabbing Roxas in the brain with its high pitch squeal. Roxas sighed in relief as the deep tone soothed his headache like water on a burn.  
>"Out, Axel," Larxene said without looking up. Roxas didn't know why she bothered trying anymore. Everyday Axel followed her in and everyday she told him to get out.<br>"But he always feels better with me here," Axel lied, right on cue. Roxas would feel better if everyone left him to die here in peace.  
>"No he doesn't," Larxene repeated every morning. Today was no exception. Axel wouldn't be phased by that and would just sit himself down beside Roxas's bed with a grin to the blonde.<br>"Go back to your room," Larxene scolded him, her attention on the soup Roxas really didn't want.  
>"But it's all the way on the other side of the house," Axel groaned. He would have whined, but he somehow knew that high sounds were hurting Roxas the most. Roxas wondered how this stubborn redhead could be so intuitive.<br>"It's on the other side of that wall," Larxene said, giving Axel a look as she pointed to the wall behind him and Roxas. Axel just shrugged and leaned against Roxas's bed, making sure not to push on the mattress, because somehow that damn know-it-all knew it bothered Roxas. The blond was always irritable when he got sick. He seemed to get sick a lot, actually.  
>Larxene carried the bowl over to Roxas who groaned and sat up in the most miserable manner he could muster. Axel rolled his eyes playfully at the grumpy teen.<br>"What's everyone doing today?" Roxas asked, taking the bowl from the motherly female. It was Saturday, so there'd probably be a lot of activity going on, though Roxas always asked this question in order to distract himself from the urge to vomit as he ate his soup.  
>"Marluxia, Demyx, and Zexion went to Sora's house to watch a movie," Larxene told him. Roxas felt like her voice was making his ears bleed but focused on her words anyway as he ate.<br>"I'll be staying home to make sure you have everything you need. Axel will be writing his English paper," she added, glaring at the redhead on the floor. Axel just waved at her with one of his more irritating grins. Despite his mood, Roxas snorted.  
>"Fat chance," he mumbled through his soup. Larxene ignored him.<br>"You'll rest up in here. I don't want you running around or doing anything besides sleeping today, Roxas. You're fever's almost 104. Namine's staying home as well, but she wont-"  
>She was cut off by the screeching squeak of Roxas's door as the girl in question peered in.<br>"Is he up yet?" she asked softly. Roxas smile slightly to see his friend. They'd known each other for a while; ever since the one time when Larxene dated his older brother.  
>"She won't be coming in here," Larxene finished, looking pointedly at her younger sister. Namine rolled her eyes and tried to come forward, but Larxene quickly stepped forward and ushered her out of the room, closing the door and locking it. Roxas sighed and finished his soup. He'd hoped Namine would get to stay and chat with him a bit. Her voice was soft enough not to irritate his head and she was an entertaining person to be around, once she'd warmed up to you, of course. Larxene didn't want to risk her getting sick.<br>"How long ago did Dem and the others leave?" Axel asked as Larxene took Roxas's bowl. Roxas laid down and pulled his checkered comforter tightly around himself.  
>"About an hour ago," Larxene responded. Roxas drifted off to sleep.<p>

"Roxas, Roxas," a voice called him from the depths of his warm nap. Roxas struggled to stay asleep, not wanting to wake to his headache. The voice was too persistent, though, and soon he was blinking sleep away and rolling over.  
>"I want to check your temperature again," Larxene said softly. Roxas felt sweat covering his forehead.<br>"What time is it?" he mumbled groggily, opening his mouth for the thermometer once again.  
>"You slept for about two hours," Axel said. Roxas didn't have to look to know the redhead hadn't left his place by the bed. He doubted Axel had even fidgeted. Roxas glared at the thermometer, wondering who was the cruel inventor that came up with the beeping idea. Larxene took it from him and bit her lip.<br>"It's 104," she said. "I'll call the doctor again." With that, she left the room for a phone. Namine slipped inside quickly, her trusty sketchbook under her arm.  
>"I drew you some pictures," she said, showing him what she'd been up to for the past two hours. She drawn him a very realistic looking lion cub who's fur looked similar to his hairstyle. Roxas smiled.<br>"Thanks, Namine," he croaked, his voice rough when pushed above a mumble due lack of use over the past few days.  
>"Demyx and the others came back, by the way," she told him, sitting down in front of Axel. Larxene walked back in and sighed when she saw her sister.<br>"I called the doctor, he said he'd make a house call," she informed them. Roxas felt like they thought he was dieing or something. Well, he did _feel_ like it. And to top it off, now his fever was making him dizzy. He screwed up his eyes in confusion as the world started moving. He reached out for something to steady himself and found himself gravitating towards Axel somehow before the world went black.  
>He blinked at the sudden darkness and the fog cleared up, only to reveal that he had somehow teleported into Axel's lap and the redhead was looking down at him.<br>"Wh-what?" Roxas blinked, looking around.  
>"<em>Easy<em>," an unfamiliar voice reached him. Its tone was soothing.  
>"Roxas, the doctor's here," Larxene told him. Axel lifted him up back into his bed.<br>"That was fast," Roxas said in surprise, trying to figure out how he had ended up on the floor in the first place.  
>"Actually, Roxas, you passed out for about twenty minutes," Namine told him hesitantly. Roxas's eyes widened.<br>"Don't worry, it's normal for someone with such a high fever to faint," the doctor assured him and he checked Roxas's heart beat with his stethoscope. "The mumbling's common, too," he added as an after thought.  
>"Mumbling?" Roxas asked. Axel shrugged, a smirk pulling at his lips.<br>"It sounded like you mumbled a name or something," Namine shrugged. She was still speaking hesitantly, like there was something she was holding back. Axel's hidden smirk grew wider.  
>"It seems like it's just an early case of the flu," the doctor said, straightening back up. "I'm surprised the season's started this early on, but I think he should be fine."<br>"He has a weak immune system," Namine said, clearly remembering all the times he'd been sick in the past. The doctor nodded.  
>"That would explain how he caught this so early on. I'll prescribe you some medicine to help him fight it off.""Thank you," Larxene said, leading the way out. The doctor nodded and handed her a slip of paper that probably had the prescription written on it before he went down the stairs and out of the house. Demyx walked in, Zexion following him.<br>"So how is he? Does he have something deadly?" Demyx asked, looking Roxas over as if he could see the germs making the shorter blond sick.  
>"It's just the flu, Demyx," Zexion said.<br>"How do you know that?" Axel turned towards the slate haired teen.  
>"His symptoms," Zexion returned, his tone suggesting it was an obvious conclusion. Maybe that was his normal tone, Roxas mused absently. His main thoughts were still focused on piecing together what exactly he must have mumbled to make Axel look so smug and have Namine hesitating.<br>"So, he's not gonna die, right?" Demyx confirmed, grinning playfully at Roxas.  
>"No, Demyx, he's not going to die. So long as he ensures hypothermia doesn't snake its, no pun intended, cold hands around him."<br>"Don't worry Dem, I'll keep him warm," Axel dismissed. A look passed between the two of them as they had some sort of telepathic conversation Roxas couldn't begin to guess the topic of. The pair snickered at whatever they'd shared.  
>"He is, however," Zexion added as Larxene slipped back into the room, "likely to be highly contagious."<br>"That's enough from doctor emo, out with you," Larxene insisted, pushing on the short teen's shoulder.  
>"I am not emo," Zexion hissed at her.<br>"You're still one of the smallest, so out!" She was relentless when it came to abusing Zexion's self esteem. Roxas didn't know how the intelligent boy put up with it.  
>"You too," Larxene added, ushering Namine out as well. Her weak protests went unobserved as Demyx freely followed Zexion out of the black and white bedroom. Marluxia appeared in the doorway seconds after Namine's retreating figure disappeared down the hall.<br>"I just shooed them out," Larxene sighed irritably, glaring at Marluxia.  
>"I only came to tell you our sustenance supply is running on empty," Marluxia informed her, the strange phrasing of the sentence his way of showing Larxene her tone annoyed him. Roxas had been around the other exchange students long enough to pick up things like that, though he still didn't know what the others were thinking or what Axel and Demyx discussed in their seemingly telepathic conversations.<br>"I can't leave Roxas!" Larxene insisted, tossing a concerned look over her shoulder at him. Roxas, grimacing at her voice like always, was reminded of his first impression of her. Her voice didn't match her personality in the slightest.  
>"Then we'll go hungry," Marluxia shrugged. Roxas was pretty sure nothing bothered this cold man.<br>"I can look after him," Axel threw in, reminding Roxas that the redhead was seated beside his bed. "I have a crazy high immune system; haven't been sick since I got the chicken pox in second grade, and that was because the vaccine they gave me was stronger than it was supposed to be. Stupid nursing interns," he added under his breath. Roxas tried not to snicker at the face Axel was making.  
>Larxene stared long and hard at him before sighing in agreement.<br>"Fine, but you're to make sure no one but Axel comes in or out of this room until I get back," the blonde hissed at Marluxia, jabbing her finger into his chest before she stormed passed him to the stairs down the hall. Marluxia shut Roxas's bedroom door behind himself as he walked out without a backward glance.  
>"Why does he let her boss him around like that?" Roxas asked aloud, wrapping himself back up in the blankets.<br>"Maybe they're dating," Axel shrugged. They locked eyes and burst out laughing at the idea.  
>"Yeah, that's go to be it," Roxas said sarcastically.<br>"You watch, they'll get married one day," Axel snickered. Roxas snorted as best he could with his nose as stuffed as it was. Axel must've heard the signs of the nasal congestion.  
>"You need to get better soon, cub," he said seriously.<br>"'Cub?'" Roxas asked disbelievingly. Axel grinned and held up the picture Namine had left for Roxas. "You are not calling me that," Roxas hissed.  
>"Better than Roxy, though, isn't it?" Axel smirked. Roxas would have punched him if he weren't so warm in his blankets, so instead he offered up a thankful middle finger. Axel just laughed at him and stood up, tossing an "I'll be back," over his shoulder. Not that it was necessary. He always came back. Roxas managed to slip off into sleep again.<p>

_Panting echoed around the room. The sound of nails sliding across sheets ripped the air as a breathy "Ah," escaped a certain blond's lips. The sound was repeated a few times, each louder than the last. The sound elevated into light moans as hands fisted the sheets below them._

Roxas woke up, panting lightly, his heart beat elevated. He thanked whatever holy and or unholy force out there that was responsible for the fact that Axel had yet to return to his bedroom. It must've been a really quick nap.  
>The piercing squeak of his door announced an intruder's presence. Roxas rolled over, hoping he looked composed. Axel grinned at him, waggling a bag of gummy worms and a box of cheerios around.<br>"This was literally all we had left down there," he laughed, settling himself back down on the floor. "Figured you wouldn't want soup anyway," he added, holding the opening of the box towards Roxas. The sick teen gave in and took a handful. He _was _tired of soup.  
>"I thought Larxene was being a sugar Nazi?" Roxas mused, taking the gummy worm offered to him.<br>"Yeah, but me and Dem got ourselves a sugar stash," Axel grinned mischievously. He really was just a big kid, Roxas mused.  
>"So you stole Demyx's candy for me? I'm touched," Roxas teased. Axel snorted.<br>"It's _our _candy," he corrected. "We both pitched in to fill the stash. Besides, who doesn't want candy when they're sick?"  
>Roxas rolled his eyes and ate another worm. Despite his stomach, he was feeling a bit better from this.<br>"Y'know, Axel," Roxas began.  
>"Hm?" Axel said intelligently, turning to face the blond.<br>"You're a pretty good friend," Roxas said, not making eye contact. It felt weird saying it, but something compelled him to tell the redhead what he thought of him.  
>"You say that like it's a surprise," Axel snorted.<br>"Never mind," Roxas rolled his eyes.


	8. Cookies

A/N: Everything's ready to be kicked into action now :D  
>It was hard to find inspiration for Riku's latest dream-I had an idea at some point, but I lost it. Lots of work went into writing his latest nighttime adventure, but I hope you like it.<br>My school books arrived, so I had to read those. It's been over a month since I got to write this O.O School's picked back up for me. I've gotten AP Psychology purely by accident-ironic considering I'd already planned that class to be a contributing factor to this story's plot.  
>Riku's entertaining when he's being illogical.<br>Enjoy.

_Icy air flowed slowly but sharply across the snow filled plain. A youthful voice leap into the air and froze as the wind pushed it towards the stiff silver. He turned, facing the wind and the chestnut as the voice came closer. A greeting forced its way through the wind in attempt to meet its addressee. Snow swirled around, blending and separating from the mixing voices. They froze as they combined and turned into another kind of snow._

Riku groaned as he woke up from yet another confusing dream. He'd hoped these dreams would have clues as to what they meant, but it seemed is subconscious was determined to tease him. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up groggily and stifled a yawn, reaching for his cell phone. It was about time for him to get ready for school anyway.  
>As if the weird dreams weren't enough, Saturday's events had left him bruised and battered. The hot water of his shower managed to soothe some of his soreness, but he still felt closer to the miserable edge of the mood spectrum as he departed home with his usual breakfast of a single granola bar in tow.<p>

"Hi Riku!" Sora greeted him, as much of a morning person as ever. Riku grunted in response, his mood having been, if anything, further advanced down the path of apathy during his daily wait. "So, did you get your homework done?" Sora asked as the three began walking their path to the school.  
>"Not really," Riku muttered, rubbing his sore shoulder. "I was too exhausted. Damn Coach Sephiroth is a fucking slave driver," he hissed.<br>"It can't be that bad," Sora insisted.  
>"He favors that Cloud kid and makes the rest of us work our asses off. I swear he just hates me because I'm the only one with silver hair," Riku scowled.<br>"But, doesn't _he_ have silver hair?" Sora asked, his face screwing up in confusion.  
>"My point exactly. He probably thinks it makes him less unique or some shit."<br>"I dunno," Sora said slowly, doubt clouding his eyes. Riku let out an irritated "tch" before the brunet moved on. "You should have been with us-well, I know you couldn't 'cause of try-outs, and all, but-hey, it that a bruise?" Sora stopped, pointing at a mark just visible at the edge of Riku's shirt sleeve. Riku looked to see what he meant before nodding and lifting the obscuring fabric to reveal the ugly purple shape.  
>"Cloud can't aim a pass to save his fucking life," Riku growled in explanation.<br>"He sure can throw hard, though," Sora mused as Riku covered the mark back up.  
>"Anyway, you were saying?" Riku sighed, deciding it'd be best to move away from the topic.<br>"Hmm? Oh, right, you missed out. We really had fun, and I think I convinced Aerith to let me have everyone over every Saturday to watch a movie! You should come next weekend, if you can, that is. I hope you make the team, by the way," he added, his words flowing out at a ridiculous speed. Riku nodded a grumpy thanks and turned his attention to the ocean, his dream heavy on his mind.  
>"You too, Kairi!" Sora turned to their female friend. She hadn't spoken all morning.<br>"O-ok, Sora," Kairi said meekly.  
>"You sure you're alright? I mean, I know I ask all the time, but, are you really sure?" Sora looked at her with concern. He was always asking her that anytime her mood changed. Riku had just learned to give Kairi space, but Sora was too concerned about his friends' well being to be subtle. Kairi avoided his eyes as she replied.<br>"Why wouldn't I be?"  
>"Well, I dunno, you seem kinda…jumpy, or something," Sora said, scratching his head. Kairi bit her lip nervously.<br>"I guess I didn't really get enough sleep at the slumber party this weekend," she shrugged, still avoiding his eyes.  
>"Oh, you gonna make it through the day?"<br>"I-I think I can…"  
>"Heh, I just realized how ironic that is," Sora chuckled.<br>"What is?" Kairi met his eyes for once, confused. Riku glanced over curiously, successfully distracted from his recent dreams. The school was now in sight.  
>"You didn't get much sleep at a <em>slumber <em>party," Sora grinned. Kairi giggled at that. She could always count on Sora to lift her mood. They all could.  
>"Sora," a soft voice interrupted them. The three turned to see Namine walking towards them.<br>"Hey Namine, what's up?" Sora greeted.  
>"Can you help me with something?" she asked shyly. Sora grinned.<br>"Sure! I'll see you two later, then," he added to his other friends. Riku nodded and Kairi waved goodbye to the pair before the hurried into the school.  
>"I better go," Kairi said after a moment. Riku nodded and she walked off to her class.<p>

Kairi silently thanked Riku for leaving her be. She knew he wasn't as easily consoled by such obvious lies. It pained her to lie to Sora about anything, but Selphie's dare was weighing heavily on her. She knew she'd have to go through with it eventually, Selphie wasn't one to let go of a good dare.

Olette looked at the teen across the room from her, making sure he wasn't looking, before she slipped her bag of cookies into another person's book bag and dashed off.

Kairi spent about twenty minutes in her first period class before the first bell even rang. She sat, worrying about the dare the entire time, and jumped at the ringing sound. Slowly students began to file into the classroom, excited chatter and friendly greetings bouncing off of every surface. Their teacher's mysterious absence left them with a substitute who had no idea what she was doing. They hadn't gotten any real work done yet, which meant everyone just sat around talking and Kairi would have plenty of time to worry herself into a panic. Namine sat down beside her and started at her habit of drawing quietly through the class.  
>Kairi began planning scenarios out in her head. She told Sora she was gay one morning while they were walking together on their way to the usual meeting place. Sora smiled at her and said he didn't care. They met up with Riku, and Sora told him Kairi had something to say, looking at her encouragingly. That plan definitely didn't work. She tried a new one; She texted Sora a message saying she was gay, followed by another that said jk. Sora asked her why she was making a joke like that, then guessed that maybe she chickened out and lied so he wouldn't believe her. He said it was fine and he and Riku both accepted her, because Riku was with him and had seen the messages too. That plan was clearly a bad one too. She thought up another-<br>"Here," Namine interrupted her thoughts, passing her a piece of paper from her sketch pad. Kairi looked down to see a beautiful drawing of a red butterfly nestled in delicate palms. She couldn't help but smile at how pretty it was-Namine had clearly put a lot of hard work into the colors to give it the right look.  
>"Thank you," Kairi smiled at her blonde friend, appreciated the random act more than the blonde could know.<br>"You're welcome," Namine smiled. Maybe she did know, Kairi mused. The blonde packed up her pencils before unzipping her book bag to put away the sketch pad.  
>"Oh no," she gasped softly.<br>"What's the matter?" Kairi asked, turning to peer into the bag. Everything looked ok to her.  
>"The cookies are gone," Namine lamented.<br>"What cookies?" Kairi asked curiously.  
>"I went to the Home Ec room this morning to make some for Roxas, since Larxene would kill me for making anything unhealthy and Roxas needs some cheering up. I thought I put them in my bag, but I must've mixed it up with someone else's."<br>"So what will happen when they find the cookies?" Kairi wondered.  
>"Well, I pinned a card to the bag, so maybe they'll realize it was a mistake," Namine said hopefully.<br>"Well, all we have to do is find someone with the same bag as you," Kairi shrugged.  
>"There were at least three others like it in there," Namine conceded. Kairi raised her eyebrows. <em>This should be interesting.<em>

"Aw man!" Sora moaned, digging through his bag.  
>"What'd you do now?" Hayner raised an eyebrow, looking up at the brunet from his pillow. Never mind that most students called it a desk.<br>"I must have left my lunch money in the Home Ec room," Sora sighed, sitting down in defeat.  
>"You were in the Home Ec room?" Hayner sat up straight. Sora was almost to upset to notice the weird look in Hayner's eye. Almost.<br>"Yeah, I was helping Namine," Sora answered offhandedly. That wasn't the important thing here. Why was Hayner acting like it was a crime to step foot in there anyway? Namine was too shy to ask a teacher where the room was, so they looked together.  
>"Sneak off," a voice suggested behind him. Sora turned to see Demyx was listening to their conversation. "We'll cover you. It's not like Mr. Whateverhisnameis cares, anyway," he added, nodding to the sleeping teacher. Sora's face slowly broke out in a grin.<br>"Yeah, thanks," he nodded before getting up and carefully slipping off undetected.  
>Demyx waved goodbye, his arm bumping into Sora's still unzipped book bag. The crash of heavy textbooks and binders hitting the floor hardly made a dent in the roar of chatting students with nothing better to do. Some one was writing on the board. Someone else was writing on the teacher.<br>"I'll help you," Hayner sighed, getting up and walking to the nearest binder. Demyx gave him a few grateful words as a little baggie of cookies was accidentally kicked under a desk,

"What's this?" Hayner wondered aloud as he unzipped his bag in second period. A few hand made cookies sat in a clear plastic bag with a neatly folded little piece of paper attached to it. _Roxas _was written on it in what looked like a girl's handwriting.  
><em>She must have mixed my bag with his,<em> Hayner guessed. The bell interrupted his thoughts. _I'll just slip it into his locker then._

Olette made her way to her third period class, rounding her final corner to see Hayner slipping a baggie of cookies into a locker. She gasped silently and backed away, tears streaming down her face. _I should have known…_ She turned and ran off, towards the parking lots, firing off a quick texted plea to be pick up and taken home to her mom. _All this time…I should have known he was gay…_


	9. That Sounds Pretty Gay

A/N: So, show of hands, who else has too many books, cartoons, and video games to distract themselves with? I've got three AP classes; the work load is psychotic. But I'll live.  
>I don't want any Dream Drop Distance spoilers, okay? I haven't had time to beat it yet.<br>_So sorry_ I missed Zemyx day. I planned to write something for it, but I never got time. I missed Akuroku day this year, too :(  
>Yes you do recognize those lines there. I know they're Sora's, but I think they work better for Riku's current situation.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Crimson leaves fell through the air, fluttering down and circling chestnut. Silver stood out drastically against the warm heated colors in the sunset. A voice sliced the air like the crisp crunching of the leaves beneath silver. Another voice fluttered out on the breeze to chestnut, gently pushing along falling leaves. A brilliant smile flashed. Laughter crackled like the stepped on leaves and whipped around silver as the wind picked up.<em>

Riku awoke with a jerk in his third period class. He groaned softly and rubbed his eyes, realizing he'd fallen asleep in the middle of a lecture. Thankfully the teacher didn't seem to have noticed, but it was a minor comfort to the silveret at the moment. A fourth dream, and he was more confused now then ever. He'd have to ask someone for help, he decided as he tried to figure out what exactly he'd missed during his nap.

Since it was obvious Sora was the chestnut color in the dreams, asking the spikey-haired one for advice probably wasn't the best plan at the moment. Riku figured this was a close-friends-only problem, meaning Kairi was the next on his list. As the bell rang, he made his way out into the hallway to find her, knowing they both had a free period next.  
>"Kairi!" he called out across the hall as soon as he caught sight of her dark red hair in the crowd.<br>"Riku?" she responded nervously. Whatever was on her mind that morning must've still been troubling her, he realized.  
>"I need some help. C'mon, let's go up," he said softly, gesturing to the roof. Kairi nodded silently and let him lead her to the rickety, rusting metal ladder bolted to the back of the school building. Students weren't supposed to be up there, but that'd never stopped him before. It was the only place they could have total privacy, anyway.<br>"What's the matter, Riku?" Kairi asked hesitantly once they'd reached the top, sitting down delicately on her back pack. Riku dropped his own bag far more unceremoniously and sat on the roof in front of it, leaning against it as he spoke.  
>"I've been having these weird dreams lately…" he began hesitantly, not sure how to describe just how troubling the dreams were.<br>"How so?" Kairi gently urged.  
>"Well, I'm detached, watching what's going on but not being a part of it. During the dreams I sort of feel like…like, is any of this for real, or not?"<br>"Why wouldn't it feel real, Riku? I mean, it is a dream, they usually seem normal until you wake up."  
>"Well, like I said I'm detached, but nothing's really the way it's supposed to be. Instead of people, I just see colors. I know they're people because they have voices, but even those are all messed up. I can see them moving somehow, but it's not like they actually <em>look <em>like anything. It doesn't make any sense…"  
>"It's dream logic," Kairi explained gently. Riku nodded. "Do they happen every time you sleep?"<br>"Not quite, but they only started recently. It's almost like…"  
>"Almost like what, Riku?" Kairi asked. He could tell she was looking at him intensely now, trying to understand. He hadn't met her eyes once throughout the entire conversation.<br>"A scattered dream that's like a far-off memory," he answered quietly, more to himself.  
>"They feel familiar?" she supplied. He nodded again. "How many have you had now?"<br>"I had my fourth one last period," Riku admitted, finally meeting her eye, if only for a second. She sighed disapprovingly at his sleeping location. The corner of Riku's mouth twitched with a smile at the redhead's motherly attitude. He'd be getting a lecture later.  
>"How long have they been going on?" was all she asked for now.<br>"Since the first day of school. I woke up from one that morning."  
>"Are they all exactly the same?"<br>"No," he shook his head, "the settings are all different, every time, but the voices are always like that, always there. And the colors of the people are always the same. Silver and chestnut."  
>"It's you and Sora?" Kairi guessed timidly. Riku met her eye again for a longer period of time before looking away yet again with a nod. "They bother you, worry you," she assessed.<br>"I feel…I feel crazy," he admitted, his gaze far from hers now. "I just, I wanna line the pieces up, figure out what's wrong with me."  
>"Nothing's <em>wrong<em> with you, Riku," she insisted quickly. "Weird dreams are totally normal. It's just the brain's way of trying to tell you something about yourself, maybe something you can't or haven't realized on your own yet. A subconscious drive, for instance."  
>"I have subconscious drives about Sora's voice? That sounds pretty gay, Kairi," Riku muttered.<br>"It doesn't just have to be sexual drives, Riku," Kairi deadpanned. "I can look into the dreams for you, if you really want," she added in a much friendlier tone.  
>"Look, you don't have to do all that work just for-"<br>"It's fine," she insisted, cutting off his protests. "I have a project for my online psychology class revolving around dream research anyway. I can kill two birds with one stone."  
>Riku looked up at her from his place for a long moment, seeing the stubborn resolve in her purple-blue eyes. He sighed and looked away again, a small smile gracing his lips as he shrugged.<br>"If you must," he let out as the lunch bell rang.  
>"C'mon, let's go pester Sora," Kairi grinned, standing up and bending down to offer him a hand, and perhaps to keep him from accidentally getting a full glance of what was under her uniform skirt. As if he would try to look. He smirked slightly and accepted the hand.<p>

"I henceforth claim this location in the name of Organization XIII!" Demyx proclaimed loudly as the last of their group took their seats.  
>"Yay verily," Riku called sarcastically, swiping a fry from Sora's plate. The brunet playfully shoved him in retaliation.<br>"What if it rains, Demyx?" Zexion asked in a sigh as he ate around another one of his massive books.  
>"Or snows," Demyx himself mused.<br>"Snows?" Sora asked, face screwed up in confusion. "What's snow like?" Five pairs of eyebrows raised in shock at this. "What?" Sora asked self-consciously.  
>"Destiny Islands are tropical islands, so we've never had any snow here," Riku defended his best friend.<br>"Well that's definitely a problem. We gotta get you dudes some snow fast!"  
>"Speaking of problems, what's up with them?" Larxene gestured to Hayner Pence and Olette with her thumb. Olette sat separated from the rest of the group by a few feet and kept her back to the boys. Hayner kept sending her pained, confused looks, oblivious to everyone else excluding Pence, at whom he looked pleadingly for advice. Pence seemed to have no idea what to do.<br>"Are you ok, Hayner?" Kairi asked gently. The blond blinked and looked around for a moment, as if he couldn't tell who'd spoken.  
>"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, it's fine…Hey, wait a sec, where's Roxas?" he asked, looking around.<br>"Home," Larxene sighed. "He's been so sick lately. I had to leave Axel in charge of him," she added bitterly. Axel was apparently a poor nurse.  
>"Aw, so they're going to miss out on my story!" Sora whined, pulling out the short story he'd been told to bring. Hayner sat confused about Roxas's absence, now ignored by the others once again.<br>"So you did get it," Larxene noted, taking the paper from him. "Alright, I'll give it to our writer to fix it up and put it into script form for us."  
>"Writer?" Namine spoke up softly, looking up from her ever present sketch pad.<br>"We didn't assign any roles yet," Kairi gently added in.  
>"Fine, let's do that. We need a leader first off," Larxene noted. "Marluxia's the oldest here, and he's going to major in Drama later," she added in.<br>"Is that a nomination?" Zexion asked sarcastically.  
>"I accept," Marluxia answered for her. "We'll need a writer, some sort of a costume and make up team, hopefully music,"<br>"Dibs!" Demyx shouted, jumping up and knocking over his bottled water, nearly splashing a now glaring Zexion.  
>"Very well," Marluxia noted, glancing at Demyx as he did some sort of happy dance before Zexion punched him in the knee. "Moving on, we'll also need special effects and set designers, not to mention camera people."<br>"Well, starting from the top, Zexion can be the writer," Larxene offered. "He's always reading anyway."  
>"Yeah, Zexy'll make a great writer," Demyx agreed wholeheartedly. Zexion seemed to give only half of his consent to the idea.<br>"I can do make up," Larxene continued.  
>"I know how to sew, so I can make costumes," Kairi offered.<br>"And my sister can design the sets and costumes for us," Larxene added in quickly. Riku was beginning to think she was the mother figure of the Hallow Bastian students only because of how bossy she was.  
>"Axel would love to do special effects," Demyx noted, looking over at his friend's empty place.<br>"Fine," Larxene shrugged, even though it wasn't her choice, technically, if Marluxia was in charge now.  
>"We need at least three people to build our sets," Marluxia added in offhandedly. "Hayner and Pence can do it with Roxas," he decided.<br>"I wanna help with the camera!" Sora declared.  
>"Fine, Olette can be on camera with you. And Riku, I'll make you in charge of how our money is spent. We don't exactly have the biggest budget, so we'll be counting on you to-"<br>"So what about parts?" Demyx interrupted. "Who gets to actually be in the movie?"  
>"We all will be, so Zexion, you better make sure you have thirteen characters," Larxene bossed, handing him Sora's paper as the bell ended their lunch period.<br>"As though I'll have time to write in our madhouse," Riku heard the short book-lover grumble.  
>"Hey, if you want a quiet place to be, you can come to my house this weekend," he offered. Zexion looked up at him curiously for a moment before nodding thankfully.<br>"I think I will. Thank you."


	10. Ass King

A/N: I love this chapter. I'm spoiling you guys, I have so much homework, but here I am.  
>This chapter is the one that puts us over the line into the land of M ratings.<br>Yes, more stolen lines. The lines you recognize through out this story belong to Square Enix and probably Disney too. Just saying.

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><p><em>Panting echoed around the room, mixed with groans of approval. Movements were painfully slow. There was too much friction and yet it was never enough. And then a sly mouth closed around him. He moaned unabashedly, eyes fluttering shut. The sneaky bastard between his legs was sucking ever so perfectly, steadily pushing him closer to the edge. Sweat playfully danced across heated flesh, adding to the messy state of the bed sheets. A particularly hard sucking action caused him to thrust his hips unintentionally, bringing a moan from the mouth. Moans replaced the panting as he was driven to the edge. The scraping of teeth across his member pushed him over, and he came loud and hard into the other's mouth, who had the nerve to <em>swallow_ around the mid-orgasm member._

Axel groaned as he was pulled from his particularly enjoyable dream. Instantly he realized not all of the dream had stayed in his subconscious, and now he'd have to wash some sheets before Larxene got home. Gods forbid she found out. He smirked at the explanation he'd give her.  
>"Another dream about him," he'd say with a shrug. But no, better not piss of the queen of PMS again, what with Roxas still sick. Axel sighed and got up, pulling up his sheets and throwing them into a pile by the door.<p>

After he'd changed and dumped the sheets into the washing machine, Axel grabbed Roxas's medicine and headed to the sick blond's room. If he didn't do what Madame Bossy commanded, he could say good by to skipping school to play doctor.  
>He wouldn't have knocked even if he didn't know Roxas was fast asleep. Barging in was his style, after all, he mentally defended himself as he set the medicine bottle on the nightstand. He was about to pour the revolting liquid out when he glanced over at the sleeping teen and noticed a checkered book in the blond's clutches. With a curious smirk, he set aside the medicine and eased it out of the freshman's iron grip. Realizing it was a journal of sorts, Axel flipped it over and spotted an intriguing word written in Roxas's slightly messy print. <em>Gay. <em>Displaying his utmost respect for other people's privacy, Axel vowed to only read the one page.

_I can't get the bastard out of my head. It's like no matter what, he's there. I swear that dream I had was about him, too. Why can't he just leave me be? Damn it, I'm probably gay. That's it, Roxas, the younger brother of the biggest playboy in Hollow Bastion, is a lovesick closet case. I'd love to write home to mom about that. I can just imagine the fuss Larxene'll make, and Namine. Not to mention _him_!_

Axel smirked and closed the journal, a feeling of success washing over him. _Another one brought to the dark side,_ he thought. He'd have to let Demyx know, eventually. Feeling like today was going to be awesome, he set the journal on the nightstand and finished pouring Roxas's medicine.  
>"Wakey wakey, Sleeping Beauty," he called gently, shaking the blond. Roxas stirred slowly and blinked his sapphire orbs open.<br>"Unf," he mumbled intelligently, slowly sitting up.  
>"Time for el medicino," Axel grinned, handing over the purple syrup. Roxas groaned softly and took the cup, his eyes flickering over to his book. He hurriedly snatched it, fear flashing in his eyes for a moment. Axel smirked.<br>"What's this huh? A diary, maybe?"  
>"Shut up!" Roxas growled, holding the book close and taking his medicine to avoid questions.<br>"Oh so it is, huh? What's in it? Any girls you like?" Axel pressed, trying not to burst out laughing at how intentionally ironic he was being. He wanted to see how the blond would react, and was rewarded with a bright red face and indignant eyes. Roxas grimaced as he swallowed the medicine and glared at Axel.  
>"That's none of your business!"<br>"Oh, but isn't it?" Axel grinned, testing a theory. Something like panic flashed in Roxas' eyes. Yup, theory proved.  
>"Wh-what do you mean?" Roxas growled.<br>"Guys set their pals up with chicks, Roxas. It's the way of life. And since you're a naïve little big eyed freshie, it's up to me to make sure you get a date," he explained, his shit-eating grin never leaving his face.  
>"I can manage on my own," Roxas hissed back.<br>"How can you if you're never at school?" Axel rolled his eyes.  
>"You aren't either!" Roxas snapped indignantly. It wasn't like it was his choice to be sick all the time.<br>"True, but I've got connections," Axel threw back. He loved being a smart-ass with this kid.  
>"Pft, alright, whatever," Roxas rolled his eyes, handing back the medicine cup. Axel took it and decided he wasn't done yet.<br>"So what's in the book?"  
>"I'm not telling you," Roxas growled, slipping it under his pillow.<br>"Oooo, that means it's really juicy," Axel grinned.  
>"Back off, Ax," Roxas glared at him.<br>"Alright, alright, I'll just have to steal it later, then," the redhead threw his hands up in defeat.  
>"You better not!"<br>"Then why don't you just tell me?" Axel countered, throwing himself onto the bed.  
>"Because,"<br>"Because why, Roxy?" He relished the twitch of the blond's eyebrow. Nicknames were definitely something he would be using from now on  
>"Because I said so!" Roxas snapped.<br>"You sound like a mom," Axel snickered at him. He loved pressing buttons.  
>"You're acting like a little kid," the blond spat back. "Get off me."<br>"No," Axel insisted, eyes sparkling.  
>"<em>Axel,"<em> Roxas threatened.  
>"<em>Roxas,"<em> Axel grinned.  
>"Get <em>off,<em> Axel."  
>"Nope."<br>"I meant it!"  
>"<em>I mean it!"<em> Axel mimicked in a high pitch voice. That one really got him.  
>"<em>Stop!<em>"  
>"<em>Stop!"<br>_"Axel, I swear to the gods-"  
>"<em>Axel, I swear to-"<br>_Axel was cut off as Roxas shoved him out of the bed and onto the floor. He landed with a loud thump and began snickering.  
>"You're just too fun to mess with," Axel teased as he slowly sat up, rubbing the spot on his head that banged the floor.<br>"You're just an ass," Roxas snapped back.  
>"Guilty," the redhead grinned, standing up. "You could have given me whiplash, you know. And then what would Larx do with us?"<br>"She'd probably chew you out for not taking care of me," Roxas smirked.  
>"Oh, you wanna play?" Axel grinned.<br>"I'm not playing with you anytime soon,"  
>"That's what she said." He loved how red Roxas's face could get in a matter of seconds. A thing of beauty, really.<br>"Fuck off," was the master comeback he received.  
>"She told me that, too," he smirked, collecting the medicine from the nightstand.<br>"I'm sure she did," Roxas chuckled.  
>"Oh? And what's that supposed to mean, huh?"<br>"You should know," Roxas shrugged. It was his turn to wear the grin of shit eaters.  
>"You're an ass, you know that?" Axel laughed.<br>"What, and you're not?"  
>"I'm king of the asses, blondie," Axel said defiantly.<br>"Yeah, I'll believe it."  
>"So if you have the strength to verbally abuse me, I take it little Roxy Woxy is feeling better now?"<br>"Don't call me that, Ass King," Roxas growled playfully.  
>"So you admit I'm royalty that deserves to be served."<br>"I'll be sure to get all the asses of the house to wait on you," Roxas said sarcastically.  
><em>Let's start with your ass,<em> Axel had to bite back. He wasn't _that _big of an ass.  
>"Perfect. Keep it up and I'll dub you Duke of Buttingin," Axel grinned. Roxas snorted at that.<br>"Yes, I'm feeling better," he conceded.  
>"Thought so. It's all thanks to my wondrous nursing powers," Axel said arrogantly.<br>"The Ass King has nursing powers?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.  
>"Like you don't love having me to tend to your every need."<br>"Do you have any idea how gay all of that sounds?" Roxas snorted. Axel snorted along with him before heading to the door, having heard Demyx's call of "WE'RE BACK!" echo up the stairs, accompanied by book bags being slung all over the house.  
>"I should hope so, considering I <em>am<em> gay, after all," Axel shrugged, deciding it was definitely fun to mess with the sick blond. He simply left after that to go and harass Demyx, and hide his washing sheets, smirking at the look he imagined on Roxas' face. He knew the blond was staring at him, a look of shock plastered to his face. He was probably blushing, too.


	11. Mansex

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone :D  
>I was in NaNoWriMo, so that absorbed me for the whole of November. It's been too long since I updated this lovely fic, and I'm truly sorry for that. A big thank you to those of you who've stuck around.<br>On with the show.

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><p>"Thank you,"<br>"No problem. I doubt it's easy to get along in that house anyway," Riku shrugged as he led his visitor through the house.  
>"Definitely not," Zexion smiled.<br>They walked around a corner in the carpeted hall and came to a wide, open area. A massive stone fireplace gapped at them from across the room, just to the left of a staircase.  
>"Alright, here's the living room, you can work here, right?" Riku asked, glancing at Zexion from the corner of his eye. He didn't usually bring people over.<br>"This will be fine. Thanks again, Riku."  
>"Yeah, well I've got another damn essay, so I'll be off procrastinating in my bedroom if you need me," Riku said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Up the stairs, second door on the right. Bathroom's right there. Scream if you get murdered," he grinned before heading off to the stairs. He heard the short, apparently not-an-emo teen chuckle and sit down on the big white couch to work. The silveret didn't look back as he left the writer to his work.<br>Riku turned on his computer and pulled up the nearly blank document of his three page essay and suppressed a groan. It was Saturday, true, but he knew next to nothing about the book he'd been instructed to read, and he had to analyze a quote from it some how. Granted this was all his fault, but honestly, who cares about the colonization of Atlantis anyway? Well, Atlanticans, he supposed.

After a few hours and roughly half a paragraph of solid work-he most certainly did not type 'this is dumb' repeatedly-Riku decided he had earned himself a nice break. Standing up and stretching like a cat waking from its afternoon nap, Riku clicked the little save button and left his computer, deciding to check on his reserved guest and maybe grab a soda.  
>He took in a breath to call out to Zexion from the top of the stairs, but stopped himself when he realized the slate haired teen was on the phone.<br>"No, Dem...Yes...I told you already, Friday nights...I don't think so...That's a bit off topic..." His tone changed and Riku could almost swear he sounded embarrassed. "Really, that's a bit inappropriate, don't you think," Zexion hissed. Riku could see how red his face was from where he stood at the top of the stairs. "I'm at Riku's, you'll have to hold off on that kind of talk, thank you very much," Zexion growled. Riku tried not to laugh out loud. "Yes, I'll be home tonight, where else would I be?...I don't need to hear what you're planning, Demyx...Yes, yes, I love you too, now may I return to my work?...Thank you." For a moment the beep of the call ending was the only sound in the room. And then Riku's laughter cut through the air like a razor. Zexion whirled around, face bright red.  
>"It's rude to eavesdrop," he murmured. Riku slowly stopped laughing.<br>"Like you guys really try to hide it. Face it, you're just mad I caught you red handed for once," he teased, coming all the way down the stairs. "By the way, your hands aren't all that's red," he tossed over his shoulder as he made his way to the kitchen.  
>"So what exactly is up with you two anyway?" Riku called as he returned with a coke. He carelessly tossed himself down into an armchair and shook silver bangs from his eyes. <em>Probably should get this cut soon.<br>_"What do you mean?" Zexion asked evasively.  
>"Don't even," Riku rolled his eyes, pulling on the tab to open his drink. It had been shaken up when he threw himself sideways into the chair and it squirted a bit over his shirt. After cursing under his breath and sitting up, he continued. "You two're doing <em>something <em>to each other. I just wanna know what's up."  
>"If you <em>must <em>know, we're dating," Zexion sighed.  
>"Good enough for me," the silveret shrugged, downing half the remaining can of soda in one go. "So?" he added.<br>"So?" Zexion raised an eyebrow.  
>"Why try so hard to be all covert operation about it?"<br>"Oh," Zexion murmured. Riku reflected for a moment that he may have struck a sensitive topic. He shrugged it off and took another swig. "To avoid the drama, I suppose," Zexion finally shrugged.  
>"That's actually pretty smart," Riku said softly. Zexion looked up, meeting his eyes for the first time since their conversation had begun. "What?" the silveret asked, raising an eyebrow.<br>"Nothing," Zexion shrugged.  
>"What, I can't understand the risks of being gay in today's society?" Riku asked sarcastically. Zexion kept quiet. "If you think this changes anything, you're a moron," he added, watching the slate haired boy from the corner of his eye.<br>"Just stop talking," Zexion sighed, turning back to the papers he'd been working on. Riku sighed and looked up at the clock.  
>"C'mon, Sora'll kill us if we're late," he said suddenly, nearly leaping to his feet. Zexion calmly looked up at the clock and nodded, gathering up his things and standing to face Riku.<br>"Shall we then?" Riku grinned. Zexion pointed at his chest.  
>"Your shirt?"<p>

"You know this now gives me permanent harassment rights, right?" Riku smirked, one shirt change and a few blocks later. Zexion sighed.  
>"I thought you might decide that," he chuckled.<br>"Hey, at least you're not giving me that much to work with here. I mean, Demyx is a little flamboyant, sure, but not quite gay stereotype, y'know?" Riku chuckled, leading the way around a corner. They weren't too far now.  
>"To be fair, he's bisexual," Zexion replied.<br>"Oh? What about you, then? Loyal to one team or what?" Riku slid his arms up behind his head as they took another turn.  
>"I haven't decided," Zexion shrugged. Riku nodded. "I take it by your lack of questioning, you know the feeling?" the slate haired teen raised an eyebrow. Riku blinked.<br>"...Haven't really given it much thought, I guess," he said finally. "I mean, I don't need to be labeled, that's for sure, but so far I've only been with girls, so I guess you can call me straight if you want," he shrugged. Zexion nodded knowingly. "But you're avoiding the topic," he added with a smirk.  
>"Am I?" Zexion asked, glancing at Riku.<br>"Yeah, we were making fun of you, remember?"  
>"Oh, yes," Zexion snorted.<br>"I don't know, I can't really imagine Demyx with a gay lisp," Riku snorted. Zexion chuckled softly beside him as they crossed the street.  
>"I'd honestly rather not try," he said.<br>"Now Axel, that guy I could see being gay. His gestures alone are too much for any 'straight' man. Not to mention his '_Hel_-lo'" Riku laughed. Zexion laughed with him as Sora's house came into sight. The brunet was already bouncing down the sidewalk.  
>"You're late!" he scolded playfully once they'd reached him.<br>"By what, two minutes?" Riku snorted.  
>"Everyone else is already here," Kairi called from Sora's doorway. Namine appeared beside her, sketch book in hand as always.<br>"Is your sister around?" Riku asked Sora as they walked down the stone path to the door.  
>"Nope, had to work."<br>"Is she ever _not _working?" Riku sighed dramatically. Kairi rolled her eyes.  
>"C'mon, we're all in the living room."<br>"Hi Riku! Hi Zexion!" A loud voice exploded from the room in question. Riku winked at the slate haired teen behind him. Three seconds later they were met with a hyper blond, followed seconds later by a laughing redhead.  
>"Hello, Demyx," Zexion sighed, pretending to be annoyed.<br>"Nice to know I'm invisible," Axel teased.  
>"Please, with your hair?" Demyx tossed over his shoulder.<br>"I'm surprised dogs don't confuse him for a fire hydrant," a quiet voice quipped behind the redhead.  
>"Is that Roxas?" Riku asked in surprise as Axel turned around to ruffle blond hair.<br>"Yup, the zombies have risen," Axel smirked. "It's the apocalypse, better get your shotguns."  
>"Shut up," Roxas rolled his eyes.<br>"So, are we gunna just stand here in the hall, or..."  
>"C'mon, then," Kairi laughed, leading the group back to the remaining members of Organization XIII.<br>"Now that we're all here," Larxene said once they'd all cluttered the couch and armchairs. Namine, Roxas, Demyx and Axel all sat on the floor. "I propose we make this our official meeting place."  
>"Seconded," Marluxia agreed instantly.<br>"Here here!" Demyx shouted, thrusting his can of Sprite into the air.  
>"Yay verily!" Axel agreed, mimicking the blond. Namine and Roxas picked up their own sodas. The room was filled with the sound of fizzing as the entire group lifted their cans in the toast. Demyx belched loudly, sending Axel into a fit of laughter. Namine burped next. Larxene's scold was interrupted by Sora's burp, and suddenly the three of them were trying to out burp one another, much to the disapproval of the two mother hens of the group. Riku wondered how it was even possible to have two mother hens.<br>"Alright, alright," Hayner cut in when it was clear they were burped out. "You're going to get sick if you keep trying."  
>"Let's get on to business, shall we?" Marluxia put in. All eyes turned to Zexion. "What've you got?"<br>"I took Sora's original plot idea and just fit it so we'd have enough characters. The main characters are the Red Hood girl and the wolf leader, naturally. Then there's the leader's daughter, the one the girl saved a long time ago. We also need a Granny, and a person to tell Red what to do and give her her basket. There's the other wolf leader who isn't pleased that the first wolf is fraternizing with the enemy. He's the main villain. He has a right hand man as well. After that we just need two sentries, two other people in red, and two wolf citizens."  
>"So, like, Red saved the wolf's daughter along time ago and so he doesn't want to kill her, but the other wolf guy is mad he's not killing her?" Demyx asked.<br>"Yes, meanwhile the other red hooded people are angry with Red for stopping in the wolf village rather than delivering her message to Granny."  
>"I like it," Namine said softly.<br>"Seems dramatic enough for old Mansex, at least," Axel grinned from the floor.  
>"Mansex?" Riku raised an eyebrow.<br>"The teacher making us do this. He's so overdramatic it's creepy."  
>"But you call him Mansex?"<br>"His name can be an anagram for that," Zexion sighed.  
>"What's his name?"<br>"Xemnas," Roxas answered. Sora made the same face he made when he heard Marluxia's name. Axel seemed to notice and cut him off before he could ask.  
>"X-E-M, N-A-S. Got it memorized?" Sora thought about it for a moment before nodding. Axel snorted.<br>"So is Axel Red?" Roxas asked.  
>"Hoods and my hair don't go so well together," Axel said seriously.<br>"If you didn't style it and left it flat, we could pretend you're Kairi's older sister," Demyx teased.  
>"You know as well as I do this is all natural. You're just jealous, Mullet-Hawk."<br>"Kairi could be Red," Olette offered softly. She was sitting as far away from Hayner and Pence as was possible in the small living room. Riku wondered what had happened between them, but by now it was an unspoken rule of the group not to talk about it.  
>"There's an idea," Larxene said. Riku couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic.<br>"So then who's the wolf?" Sora asked.  
>"Why not you? And then Olette can be your kid, since you both have brown hair," Riku offered.<br>"Riku can be the villain," Kairi teased.  
>"Fine, then Axel's my evil henchman,"<br>"Damn straight."  
>"I'm more evil than you," Demyx rolled his eyes.<br>"Larx gets to be Granny!" Axel cackled. Larxene glared at him. Violently.  
>"I suppose then Namine can give Kairi her basket," Zexion interrupted before someone seriously got hurt.<br>"Me and Zexion can be sentries, then," Demyx said once he'd counted on his fingers who was doing what.  
>"Hayner and Pence can wear the red, and then Marluxia and Roxas can be wolves," Kairi finished.<br>"Done then. That was easy," Axel grinned.  
>"How are we doing the wolves anyway?" Sora asked suddenly. Silence slowly fell on them as they pondered.<br>"I guess Namine and Kairi will have to work it out," Larxene shrugged eventually. "They're in charge of character design and costumes, after all."  
>"A problem for another time!" Axel toasted again. Only Demyx joined in this time.<br>"On to the _real _reason we all came here!" Demyx added, turning to the TV.  
>"What are we watching?" Namine asked softly as Sora got up to put in a DVD.<br>"Conference with the Werewolf."

"Hayner!"  
>Hayner turned at the sound of his name to see Pence running up to him. "Your house is on the other side of town, what're you doing?" Hayner asked.<br>"I just remembered," Pence panted. He must have run the entire way.  
>"What?"<br>"Olette,"  
>"What about her? Is she okay?" Hayner demanded. He grabbed Pence by the shoulders and shook him slightly. "Speak, man!"<br>"Cookies," Pence managed. Hayner stopped shaking him. "I found some cookies. They had a little note that said 'To Hayner, Love Olette'."  
>"And you waited until now to tell me?" Hayner demanded.<br>"I told you, I just remembered!"  
>"I bet this is why she's been acting so weird,"<br>"That's what I figured. Olette doesn't make us cookies often. She probably thought you blew her off."  
>Hayner groaned softly. "What do I do?"<br>"That depends," Pence said seriously.  
>"On what?"<br>"Do you like her back?"  
>Hayner blinked and met his best friend's eyes for a moment before looking down. "...yeah."<br>"Then make up with her. After we're all friends again, ask her out."  
>"You're okay with that?" Hayner asked.<br>"Why wouldn't I be?"  
>"Well, she's best friends with both of us," Hayner shrugged.<br>"Dude, she obviously likes you. Just go for it."

The shrill call of Pence's cell phone woke him up. He groaned as he rolled over and pulled the small plastic object off of his nightstand.  
>"Hayner?"<br>"Did you seriously just wake up?"  
>"It's Sunday!"<br>"It's three pm!"  
>"Yeah yeah. What do you want?"<br>"She cried and ran away."  
>"What?" Pence asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He must still be half asleep.<br>"Olette. She cried and ran away. It was mortifying."  
>"Seriously? I'm sorry man," Pence said as he sat up, looking around his room for something to wear. "What do you think went wrong?"<br>"I probably waited too long to respond," Hayner sighed. He sounded utterly miserable.  
>"I'll be over in a few minutes," Pence said, pulling a semi-clean shirt on.<p> 


End file.
